**Laurel -- no more excuses! I posted, m'dear. Now ... off to check on updates ... perhaps I'll start with Contentment
**
The week in Big Bear was coming to a close. The two girls had spent the most of their week exploring hiking trails and swimming in a nearby lake. Every evening they dined in front of the fire on “their” blanket and spoke softly to one another until sleep claimed them.
Their last full day at the cabin resembled the five previous days. They woke early to take a morning walk before settling down to Tara’s special pancakes for breakfast, and spent the better part of the day finding places for Miss Kitty to rest while they swam or picked flowers.
The sky was darkening as they arrived back at the cabin. Silver specks twinkled faintly in the cloudless sky and a light wind pushed stray blonde strands in front of azure eyes. The redhead’s elfish grin appeared as her delicately freckled hand gently brushed the offending hair to the side and tucked it behind her girlfriend’s ear.
“Your ear’s cold,” she said, warming it with her palm. She reached up with her other hand and said, “this one too.”
A lazy, half smile crept across Tara’s face as Willow’s warmth reached her. “It started getting chilly out after the lake,” she admitted.
Willow’s auburn brows furrowed and she put on her best hurt-face. “The lake was hours ago, Tara. Why didn’t you tell me you were cold? We could have come back earlier, or I could have given you my jacket like a good girlfriend, or lots of other things that don’t end with you being cold.”
Tara’s eyes widened and, although she could see Willow’s mouth moving, she wasn’t able to concentrate on the words she was supposed to be hearing.
She said ‘girlfriend.’ Her breathed caught in her throat and her heart pounded wildly as she tried to comprehend Willow’s rant.
“And what if you get sick? Then it’s like, you’ll remember walking and swimming and Miss Kitty tumbling around in the leaves and, oh yeah, being sick! And sick is not how you should remember our vacation. Sick is for vacationing with your family, or possibly with Xander, but not with me. We have to get you inside,” Willow rambled, before finally turning to the door.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make you warm all over,” Willow mumbled, and received a giggle in reply. Willow turned to face the blonde, a look of abject horror painted on her face.
Warm all over?! I meant blankets! I meant cocoa! I don’t know how to make you warm all over like that! I know fireplace warm , not touchy touchy warm! “Willow,” Tara said, mistaking Willow’s horrified expression to be about her non-existent impending illness. “My ears are cold, but that’s all. I’m not cold, I just meant it’s a little chilly outside.”
She’s not cold, therefore, she doesn’t need me to warm her up. That’s good because I don’t know how. I’m sure I could figure it out, of course. I’m a smart girl. I’m extremely smart and can research with the best of them. In fact, I am the best of them! Why didn’t I bring my laptop?! When Willow’s face didn’t change, Tara continued, “I’m not going to get sick, a-and I’ll remember this vacation with you as one of the best times of my life.”
Willow nodded her head slightly and gave Tara an uninspired smile. Taking the redhead’s hand, Tara pulled her close. The blonde dipped her head and looked deeply into Willow’s green eyes.
“Really, Willow,’ Tara said softly, “this was the most fun I’ve had since, well, in a long time.” She leaned slightly into Willow and punctuated her sentence with a small kiss. Leaning back a little, she rested her forehead on Willow’s and allowed their noses to touch.
Willow pulled back and furrowed her brow. “Your nose is cold,” she accused. Stepping out of Tara’s way, she pointed to the cabin. “In. Now.”
Once inside, Willow pulled Tara to the couch and instructed her to sit. She carefully wrapped a blanket around the blonde, made some cocoa and began working on the fireplace. Every time Tara tried to move, Willow would sternly shake her finger at her, making the blonde acquiesce and curl the blanket around her even tighter.
“Wi-“ Tara clamped her mouth as Willow spun from the fireplace, now burning two small logs.
“No,” Willow said. “I’m taking care of you. I let you get cold, now I’m gonna make you ho- warm.”
Shrugging the blanket from her shoulders, Tara looked sheepishly at the redhead. “Uhm, I’m hot now.”
“I bet you have a fever,” Willow said with a sigh. She sat on the couch next to Tara and put the back of her hand to the blonde’s forehead. Not feeling a fever, she moved her hand to check Tara’s cheeks, all the while mumbling to herself, “I let you get cold, and now you’re sick. Way to go me.”
Shaking her head, Tara couldn’t help but laugh. She reached up and grabbed Willow’s small hand. “I don’t have a fever, Willow,” she commented. “And I’m not sick.”
She watched Willow’s eyes, knowing she wasn’t getting through to the redhead. “It’s the fire, and the blanket … and the cocoa.”
“Overkill?” Willow asked sheepishly.
“It’s very nice, if I was cold to begin with,” Tara answered gently. “You really know how to take care of a girl, you know that?” Tara’s wide grin faded as Willow flashed her a weak smile.
But I don’t, Willow thought.
I have no idea, well I have some ideas, but I don’t know if they are normal ideas …“Where’d you go, Will?” Tara asked, concerned at the redhead’s contemplative silence.
Not wanting to tell Tara what was on her mind, Willow made something up. “I just wish we had more time here,” she said, not completely lying. “Tomorrow we drive back to the all things Hellmouthy, and our alone time will be drastically cut.”
Tomorrow the fantasy ends, Tara thought.
Tomorrow I’ll be hidden away again and brought out to vanquish demons, or maybe sit in on the Scooby Video Club night. “W-well, we still have tonight,” Tara said, trying to stretch their time together down to the last minute.
“I know, we could get in our jammies and then you could show me some more constellations,” Willow said excitedly.
Tara giggled. She thought is was charming that Willow called pajamas ‘jammies.” “Sounds like a plan to me,” Tara said, getting up and moving to the stairs.
In the loft, both girls rummaged through their bags to find their nightclothes. It would be the first time they slept in pajamas given that the entire week they had fallen asleep in front of the fireplace wearing whatever outfit they had worn during the day.
Willow smiled as she pulled a shirt from her bag. A bright yellow kitten smiled broadly at Tara from it’s home on Willow’s shirt, as the redhead held it up triumphantly. In her other hand, she grasped a pair of pale yellow boxers with the words “meow” and “kitty” accompanied by little white illustrations of balls of yarn and fish bones.
Tara had laid out a pair of pale blue drawn string cotton pants on the bed, and stopped concentrating on finding the matching top long enough to smile at Willow.
My cute, funny Willow. Suits her, she thought, returning to her search.
“I can’t find the top,” Tara said, defeated.
“Let me help,” Willow said, crawling across the large bed. She quickly grabbed Tara’s backpack and turned it upside down, sending Tara’s clothes tumbling across the bed. The redhead moved her hand to lift a pair of overall shorts out of the way, when she suddenly stopped.
Underwear. That’s what you get for being impulsive. Tara’s underwear. I shouldn't be seeing these .. yet. No, not yet. I shouldn’t see these at all. I should be looking at overclothes, not underclothes. Underclothes are very intimate. That lacy bra looks very intimate. Although she’s not wearing it, so I guess it’s not that bad. It’s not like she’s standing in front of me wearing only that lacy bra, Willow contemplated as an image of Tara wearing only her underclothes settled in the redhead’s mind.
While Willow sat stunned by the articles in front of her Tara quickly pulled a white tank top from the pile. Slowly stuffing the clothes back into her bag, Tara said with a giggle, “Thanks, a little unconventional but it worked.”
She found her shirt and all the nice underwear is going away. Willow’s eyes watched Tara scoop up her clothes and cram them into the knapsack.
Goodbye lacy bra. I was growing fond of you. We’ll meet again, someday. And I’ll pass out, but know it’s not you. “Willow?” Tara called to the redhead, who was staring at the backpack longingly. “Are you okay?”
Willow sighed, nodded to the blond and began to stretch across the bed. Her legs weren’t used to walking up the inclines the hiking trails sat upon and she could feel her muscles tightening.
“Oh, I’m just fi-oww!” Willow grabbed her right calf and rolled onto her left side. “Ow, ow, ow and ow. Pain, oww.”
“Willow?” Tara jumped on the bed and tried to straighten Willow’s slumped form. “What is it?”
Blinking back tears and trying to flex her leg, Willow said, “Cramp. Oooooow”
Tara lifted Willow’s head and looked into her eyes. “Let me, okay?” Without waiting for an answer, Tara moved her hand down to remove the redhead’s vice-like grip on Willow’s pale leg. “You have to let go, sweetie.”
Tara’s deceptively strong hands slowly flexed Willow’s leg, despite the redhead’s teary protest. “I know it hurts, but this will make it better.” Her slender fingers worked on the knot that was causing the cramp. “Better?”
“Mmm,” Willow answered, dreamily.
Tarahands. Tara’s thumbs rubbed small circles into the constricted muscle while her long fingers held onto Willow’s leg firmly. Her head was bent in concentration and her hair served a curtain to hide the blush that had crept onto Tara’s cheeks. When she felt the muscle relax, she slowly stopped moving her hands and looked up at the redhead.
Willow’s eyes were closed, but when she felt the blonde’s hands stop moving, she curiously opened one eye. “There’s still a little crampy,” Willow said, hoping Tara’s hands would return to her skin.
“M-maybe you should walk it off,” Tara said, not realizing Willow’s intent. “O-or maybe we should get bananas. Bananas help with cramps, I think.”
Willow sighed, “It’s okay.” A yawn forced its way form the redhead and her arms involuntarily raised, pulling her into a full cat-like stretch.
“Sleepy?” Tara asked, settling next to Willow on the bed.
“Mmm.”
“Is that a yes?” Tara asked, grinning widely.
“Mmmm hmm,” Willow mumbled, already approaching dreamland.
Tara slowly got up from the bed and switched the light off. Not sure if Willow was already asleep, Tara turned away from the redhead and quickly changed into her pajamas.
Close your eyes all the way, Willow admonished herself.
You shouldn’t watch her take her shirt off and why isn’t there a mirror on that dresser? Maybe because if there was a mirror, she might catch you looking, which I think I told you not to do. Her legs look really long when she doesn’t have pants on, which I shouldn’t know because I’m supposed to be sleeping and not watching. Through her partially opened lids, she watched Tara slip into her tank top and pull her long hair out of the collar, and slide her legs into her soft cotton pants. She pretended to sleep as Tara folded her clothes and laid them on the trunk at the foot of the bed.
Tara slipped into the bed, quietly, so she wouldn’t disturb Willow. The blonde pulled the covers up to her chest, her eyes trained on Willow for any sign that the redhead might wake up.
Why is she so far away? This bed is too big for two people. This bed is for, like, fifty people. And I don’t want fifty people in my bed, just Tara. And she’s so far away. Tara turned on her right side, bent her arm under her head and gazed lovingly at Willow. She reached out to push a few red locks away from Willow’s forehead, but her hand stopped in mid air.
She’s so lovely. Tara sighed, her hand still lingering above Willow.
Willow’s heart pounded in her chest.
C’mon, Tara. Give me a reason to ‘wake up.’ The redhead concentrated on the warmth from Tara’s hand. She could feel it hovering above her forehead and fought the urge to move toward it.
With a sigh, Tara’s hand retreated to her side of the bed and tucked itself around the blonde’s torso. “G’nite Willow,” she whispered.
When she was sure she heard the blonde’s breathing level off, Willow turned on her left side and studied Tara in her sleep.
Graceful neck … soft, shiny hair … beautiful lips. Willow’s face distorted into a full-blown pout and she sighed.
Our first goodnight without a goodnight kiss. Maybe she thinks I’m not ready to kiss in a bed. Or maybe she doesn’t want to kiss me in a bed because kissing in a bed leads to other things in a bed. Bed things. Bed things are bad things. Well, bed things are good things, but if you don’t know what you’re doing they might become bad things.Closing her eyes tightly to ward of any further thought of Tara, kissing and beds, Willow reached out and laid her hand on the blonde’s. “G’nite Tara.”
"I smell the smelly smell of something that smells smelly!" (SpongeBob Squarepants)
Edited by: jdcioffi 
at: 5/31/02 2:55:49 pm
by snuggle79 » Sat May 25, 2002 4:32 am 
That was hilarious! And so totally Willow..