School Days by JustSkipIt

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Guess what…I don't own W&T, Buffy or the rest of the BtVS crew. Any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental and fortunate.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse /mysticmuse.net
Spoilers: Geez! Even in Europe, the show has been off the air for a year. If you haven't seen any given episode, you aren't really trying. Nonetheless...Yes, there are lot of spoilers.
Author's Notes: This story is somewhat AU. Imagine that you took everything we know about Buffy/Canon, then took a completely separate story, put them in a blender, mixed it up and took out part of it. That's this story. For all intents and purposes, let's say this is very AU. And hopefully fun. This is meant to be fun and light. The updates should be frequent but short. Enjoy.
Pairing: Willow/Tara

Summary: Willow meets a pretty new student.

It was Monday and Willow hadn't seen Tara since Wednesday of the prior week. That was when they had traded stories and been interrupted by Principal Wood. Willow had expected the principal to take exception to the familiarity the two girls shared and caution her about socializing with a student. When he had failed to do so, Willow spent the next five days doing it herself. Most of the weekend had been spent either researching with the other Scoobies or meditating on her relationship with Tara. Ironically she had found the meditation training Tara had given her very useful in working through her complicated thoughts and feelings.

During that time she had come to a few conclusions—conclusions which she, being Willow Rosenberg—had written down in outline form. Summarizing those conclusions she had decided that pursuing a relationship with Tara was inevitable. She knew that no matter what, she wanted to know the wonderful blonde better. She also knew that as long as she didn't do anything that directly violated the rules of the school, she would be fine. She had read and reread the employee handbook for the school and found no mention of rules concerning relationships between teachers and students apart from forbidding "inappropriate" or sexual contact. So she had decided to truly pursue Tara without breaking any school rules.

Another conclusion she had reached was that she had to talk to Tara about their shared interest in witchcraft. It was obvious that Tara was a more experienced witch than Willow, particularly given the lack of time and energy the redhead had been able to devote to her practice while in college. She wanted to learn more about Tara's practice. Willow wanted to do a locator spell to attempt to find the missing slayer. Given that they apparently were facing a big bad with no information on what was causing the low kill count, she wanted to get the second slayer to Sunnydale to help. She had some ideas on how to construct the spell but she wanted Tara's help in designing and actually casting the spell.

Willow arrived at the tree and noted that few students had made their way onto the quad yet. Of course, she had let her class out a few minutes early but Tara, being a student, would have no such liberty. While waiting, she quickly spread out the food she had prepared. Without wanting it to seem like a date, she wanted to show some effort at these semi-informal lunchtime meetings.

"Willow?" Tara asked with obvious confusion in her voice. Willow had been so involved in spreading out the items she had brought for lunch that she hadn't noticed Tara's approach. The blonde's face carried a mix of confusion and joy as she took in the sight in front of her.

Willow quickly jumped to her feet. "I know, usually you're here before me but I wanted to surprise you today. And you look like I did. Surprise. And you always have lunch and share with me but I wanted to do that today so I did. And do you like and if you sit, I can show you what I brought?"

Tara smiled again and sat as she perused the containers Willow had set out. "You and Faith were on the way to the coffee shop that day so I brought…," she handed Tara the cup of coffee she had brought in a thermos. Then she started pointing out containers: "I didn't know if you eat meat so…Couscous with herbs and raisins, Spicy noodles, Tofu, and strawberries and watermelon for desert."

Willow continued holding out the cup of coffee and indicating the food with her other hand. After a few seconds she whispered, "If it earns me that smile I'll do it over and over too."

Tara knew that she should squash Willow's blatant interest. After Principal Wood nearly caught the two of them, she had thought about it all weekend. Finally she had decided that as long as the meetings between the two girls remained "legal" she would allow the relationship to remain as is. And now, to her shock, it appeared that Willow as escalating the relationship with what could only be seen as a very romantic lunch date.

"You don't like it," Willow pronounced with a pout in her voice when Tara didn't respond immediately.

The blonde reached out to take Willow's hand. "I love it," she whispered, "I just…it's a touchy s-s-s-s-tuation?" She added, "We need to be careful."

Willow heard Tara's words and understood them for what they were but she also noticed that Tara wasn't letting go of her hand. It was so nice that Tara wanted to respect Willow's position and the redhead really appreciated that. "We will be," she answered. She slowly took her hand away and made an x over her chest. "Cross my heart," she joked.

Both girls laughed and reached for a piece of fruit. "So do you?" Willow suddenly asked.

Tara smiled as she understood the segue. "No," she shook her head, "thanks for being so considerate in the repast." She indicated the spread. She was surprised to see Willow pull a small sheet of paper from her pocket and make a mark on it.

"So I have a list of things I don't know about you," Willow started. "Can we play more questions and answers?"

"Nothing sensitive," Tara explained, "nothing about age, jobs, college plans, nothing like that."

Willow eagerly agreed to Tara's suggestion. She understood that the girl didn't want to bring up any topics that might make them uneasy or more aware of the age differences between them. "Ok, first," Willow started only to find herself interrupted by Tara.

Tara laughed at Willow's willingness to agree. "What's your favorite color?" she asked, making the first question easy.

"My middle name is…ennbs," Tara mumbled at the end, passing her hand over her mouth.

"Your middle name is eebbbbbs?" Willow teased. "What a strange name. How did your parents spell that?"

Tara smiled at Willow's teasing. "It's…elbbbsss," she slurred again, this time teasing the curious redhead.

Willow returned, "Oh! Why didn't you say it was Elbbbsss? I used to know a kid named Elbbbsss, but he ate glue and took all the yellow crayons in kindergarten."

"Your middle name is Elvis?" Willow asked in disbelief, "Makes Willow Ruth Rosenberg seem fortunate."

"My father wanted another son and he had his heart set on Elvis as a name," Tara explained. She laughed, "My mother always said that I had the name of one of her Goddesses and one of his Gods."

Both girls laughed for a while before Willow followed up on the disclosure. "They sound interesting," she led hoping Tara would share more about herself.

"Y-y-yes," Tara simply answered not willing to get into any conversations about her family at the time. When she'd left her father and brother, she'd never looked back and she didn't particularly feel like discussing it in the middle of the Sunnydale High School quad. "What's your favorite m-movie?" she quickly changed the topic.

Willow raised her eyebrows slightly at Tara's sudden subject change but decided to go along with it. Her answer that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was her favorite movie for its campy humor started the girls on a long conversation about movies that only ended when the two realized that it was nearing time for class.

As she packed, Willow contemplated asking the question she had wanted to ask. "Um…Tara," she got the girl's attention. "Um…I want to ask you something but I don't want you to think I've been going behind your back or anything…"

Tara stilled as she worried about what Willow could be referring to. As far as she knew no one knew about her work with Faith fighting vampires and other demons but Willow seemed quite perceptive. Not trusting her voice she nodded at the redheaded student.

"Well…," Willow started, "my friends are all…I mean Giles is…I mean Buffy…" she took a breath and spit out, "I'mawitchtoo."

Tara took a second to process Willow's words. "You're…," she finally understood. "That's why the spark!" she shouted.

Willow smiled. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, Tara," she apologized, "but I never found the right time."

Tara nodded as it dawned on her that of course Willow knew she was a witch. "Buffy, Anya, Giles, are all your friends," she said.

Willow glanced around at the dwindling crowd. "Yes they are," she agreed. She took a breath: "And we can talk about it whenever you want but I was wondering…," she paused. "I need some help on a spell and wondered if you…"

Tara thought a moment about Willow's request. It was one more step. One more inappropriate activity with the intriguing and beautiful woman. One more things she should say no to. But it was also one more connection. Tara hadn't done magic with anyone else since her mother had died and she missed it so badly. "T-tomorrow?" she asked shakily.

Willow's face broke into a huge grin. "Absolutely," she agreed, "can you meet by the tree at 4:00 again?" When Tara agreed, Willow impulsively pulled the blonde into a hug before realizing that they were both late. Both girls muttered apologizes and ran off to their classes, looking forward to tomorrow's spell.

Tara looked around as she leaned her bike against the tree and took her backpack off. She'd had a difficult time choosing a few magic tomes to bring today, knowing nothing about Willow's level of magic proficiency nor her specific interest in a spell for today. It seemed from their very quick conversation that the redhead wanted to do a particular spell, not just random spells.

The blonde witch had barely been able to sleep the night before anticipating her afternoon with Willow. From the moment Willow had said that she was a witch and that she wanted to do magic with her, Tara had been nearly giddy with excitement. She had dreamed for years of finding someone to do magics with, someone who she felt a connection with, someone who complimented and completed her. Just as she was feeling that level of love for Willow, the girl had told her that she was also a witch? It was just too perfect…perfect except for the age difference, but that would be resolved after the school year. Not that they would grow closer in age, but the distinction would be less important.

Tara giggled as she remembered Faith ordering her home the night before. The two girls had been out looking for vampires:

Tara was just as happy to go home. As much as she loved spending time with her best friend and fighting the forces of darkness, she really did have lesson planning to do. Additionally she wanted to look through her spell books, even though she had no idea what Willow wanted to do.

She had only been waiting by the tree for about five minutes when Willow approached looking slightly out of breath. "Hey, sorry I'm late," Willow panted, "whole teacher/student conversation thing delayed me slightly."

"Everything ok?" Tara asked slightly concerned. She hoped that Willow wasn't having any trouble in her classes.

"Oh yeah," Willow agreed eagerly, "some confusion on a project due date but it's all straightened out now."

"Good," Tara smiled as she stood her bike up and began to roll it alongside the two girls toward Willow's jeep which once again stood in the nearly deserted student lot. As they walked, the two girls visited about their day and continued getting to know each other. After loading her bike in the back of the vehicle, Tara asked, "So how l-long have you been practicing?"

"Ok," Tara nodded quickly doing the math to see that Willow had probably been practicing about two years.

"They must be great," Willow gushed wondering what kind of woman had brought this beautiful girl into the world. "I'd love to meet your mother some day."

"Oh," Tara said, "she d-d-died four years ago." Tears pooled in her eyes as she thought about her mother and the painful disease which had stolen her vitality and then her life.

Willow quickly did the math to realize that Tara would have to have lost her mother when she was 14 years old. Without planning it in advance she reached out to take Tara's hand and brush her thumb over the back as she held it over the gear shift. "That's very young to lose your mother," she said sympathetically.

"I guess so," Willow agreed. She looked up as she pulled into the driveway of her parents' house once again. This time she knew that there was no way her parents would be interrupting as they were on their trip. She opened the door to let both girls in and turned quickly to lock the door. As she turned back, she moved a little too quickly, coming face-to-face with Tara. Both girls stood stock still taking in the other's face, flushed skin, and pounding pulse.

Tara could nearly feel Willow's breath on her lips and knew that she should pull away. She should take a step back and remove both of them from danger. But she felt so drawn to the woman in front of her. Her hand seemed to rise of its own accord to stroke Willow's curls. "Your hair is adorable," she whispered. Feeling bold she added, "Just like every bit of you."

Willow bit her lip as she heard Tara's words. Every time she thought that they could just pretend to ignore the tension between them, the blonde seemed to emphasize it. "Nothing could be as beautiful as your eyes," she whispered back.

Tara stood another few seconds drinking in the sight and smell of the girl she loved before breaking eye contact and turning toward the kitchen. "C-c-can I get a bottle of water before we start?" she asked.

Willow shook her head as if to clear it of the thoughts running through it: thoughts which involved various scenarios of her kissing Tara senseless before laying her down on her parents' sofa for even more intimate scenes. "…Um…right…," she finally sputtered, "I need to feed the cat anyway." She moved into the kitchen for the drinks and fed the cat before joining Tara in the living room.

"Your parents aren't home again?" Tara asked as she looked around the spotless living room.

"I think they're in Europe but it could be Asia," Willow explained as she handed the blonde her water. "Why don't we go upstairs," she suggested. As she did she reached out instinctively to take Tara's hand and lead her but realized what she was doing and drew it quickly back, attempting to make the motion look like she was just reaching for the banister.

Once they got into Willow's room both girls took seats on the floor and began pulling their materials from their backpacks. Tara noted that it looked like Willow has spent no time in her room since their last visit, either that or she really cleaned her room thoroughly every day. "W- what kind of spell did you want to do or did you just want to practice generally?" Tara asked, amazed that she had been able to get all that out with just one stutter in spite of her combined excitement and discomfort at being in Willow's bedroom.

Willow looked up with a brilliant smile on her face. She'd been waiting for years to find someone to practice with. Giles had never been that into magics and she had never found a partner while at college. So to find this woman with whom she felt such an incredible connection and who wanted to do magics together was absolutely amazing. She took a few seconds to continue smiling at the blonde before indicating the map she had carefully smoothed onto the floor. "This time I need your help with a specific spell but I'd love to do more spells with you any time," she answered somewhat breathlessly.

"Are we finding something?" Tara asked as she looked at the map and glanced at the spell book Willow had pulled from her pack as well as the Ziploc bags of herbs. She had obviously done some preparation for the spell.

"Yes," Willow started as she pulled an additional map from her bag and set it next to the first one. The larger map was of the United States and the smaller was a map of the World. "You know Buffy, right?"

"Well she has a cousin who used to live here," Willow explained. She wasn't entirely sure why she hesitated to tell Tara that Buffy was the slayer. Given that the girl was a witch, she probably knew about slayers but Willow just couldn't bring herself to do it. What if Tara didn't believe her and thought she was crazy? She just couldn't take the chance of rejection. She watched Tara's face for any sign that the blonde could detect her lie and continued: "A few years ago she disappeared and we don't know where she is."

"That must be really hard," Tara whispered as she reached out to touch Willow's hand. She could tell that the girl was disturbed and guessed that she had also been friends with Buffy's missing cousin.

Observing that Tara appeared to have believed her lie, Willow handed Tara a sheet of paper. It displayed the spell that she had copied and altered. "This is a demon locator spell," she explained, "I changed it to look for someone who is similar to Buffy."

Tara looked at the spell for a few moments as she thought about what Willow was telling her. Strangely, it didn't appear that she had completely altered the spell to remove the demon finding aspects. She appeared to be looking for a human with demon qualities. The blonde witch wondered if Willow knew the implications of the accent marks she had left in the spell. As she reviewed the spell she concluded that the mistake wouldn't hurt their chances of finding the missing girl. "This is to e-exclude Dawn?" she asked as she pointed out a strange line in the spell.

"Oh yeah," Willow answered excited to see that Tara was obviously reviewing the spell and approving. She had worried that Tara would note the demon aspects in the spell and question her about it. They were minor but then Buffy and the missing slayer were mystical beings, perhaps part demon so she was hoping to narrow the search.

"Are we using hair?" Tara asked, wondering how Buffy's essence would be woven into the spell. She also wondered what Buffy's apparent mystical signature would do to the spell.

"Kind of but it should work," Tara agreed. She took a few more minutes to consider the written spell, familiarizing herself with the structure and cadence of the incantation. It appeared that Willow planned for them to split the ingredients and incantation to cast the spell. She looked up and nodded that she was ready.

Willow handed half of the grains to Tara and poured the other half in her own hand. As she did so, she allowed her hand to softly caress the blonde's palm. I just don't want to drop any of the ingredients, she told herself. She noted the way Tara's body shuddered slightly at the contact.

Seeing that Tara had her ingredients securely in hand, Willow lit the candles and cast the circle. On Willow's cue, both girls began their incantations simultaneously. As they neared the end of the incantation, both scattered their grains over the two maps and then joined their hands together to focus their intention on the spell.

If Willow's spell worked, the grains would rise and swirl over the maps before focusing on one area. Most of the ingredients would burn up from the intensity of the spell but the remainder would drop onto the map at the location of the second slayer.

Tara felt the intensity of the connection between herself and the younger witch immediately upon joining their hands. If she had thought that their touch was overwhelming before, it was nothing compared to this feeling. She could feel her energy running through her body as well as Willow's as the two girls joined essences. In front of her eyes, the grains swirled and glowed. Sparks popped from within the cloud.

Willow attempted to contain her breathing as she felt the amazing power of the spell flowing through herself and Tara. Her every nerve ending felt as if were on fire with excitement and passion. She knew that they were directing the grains as they swirled and dipped in front of them. Overwhelmed by the experience, she found herself closing her eyes and could feel through the connection that Tara had done the same.

Both girls' breathing grew more labored as they attempted to complete the spell. They could feel that something was resisting. Most of the ingredients were burning up as they should but the remainder were not falling onto either map. It was as if there were a barrier between the ingredients and the map. The witches redoubled their efforts to guide the spell.

As they did so, they could feel their passions racing. An observer would have noted their heaving breasts, sweat on their brows, and other signs of excitement. Their hands literally shook with power and connection and sparks raced up and down their arms, arms on which the light hairs stood on end.

Willow sighed quietly and hoped that Tara hadn't heard the noise as she completely surrendered to the connection she shared with Tara. She had never felt anything close to their unity. She could feel Tara's heartbeat through her hands and knew that they were in perfect synchronization. Without conscious thought she leaned slowly forward until she felt the blonde's lips meet her own.

As soon as the kiss began Tara pulled her hands from Willow's, moving them to the back of the redhead's neck. She grasped at the girl's skin as if attempting to hold her closer and felt Willow's hands stroking the skin of her own cheeks. When Willow's tongue traced the contours of her lips, the blonde immediately opened her mouth to allow access and moaned at the sensation of Willow's tongue touching hers.

The spell forgotten, Willow whimpered in forbidden pleasure at the perfection of Tara's lips on her own. The blonde's mouth was just as perfect as she had imagined and when Tara moved both tongues back into Willow's own mouth the redhead wondered if she would pass out.

Suddenly Willow lurched forward, having to put out her hands to avoid falling over. She gasped in surprise and looked up to see Tara standing up, her hand held over her mouth and a look of horror on her face. Before Willow could speak she heard Tara run from the room and down the stairs, followed by the sound of the front door slamming. Oh God! was all she could think before looking to the maps, finding two neat squares of ingredients lining the edges of the maps without a single grain on either sheet of paper.

Note about this part – First off, sorry for the delayed update. I had this part started on time and made good progress. And I finished it. But I hated it. I didn't like the point of view at all and didn't think that the update worked.

So this part is a rather large diversion from the writing style and point of view of the story up to this point. I hope that you find that this approach works well.

Ok, why isn't she answering the door? I waited around the school for a few minutes but her Jeep wasn't in the lot. Now I've been standing here knocking for at least five minutes with no response at all. It's probably really bothering the cat too. And what am I going to say when she does answer the door? "Hi Willow. I'm so so so sorry about kissing you yesterday like some horny teenager or crazy and immature adult. It was all my fault and…and…and…" Oh yeah, that's definitely going to go over well.

God, I can't believe this. I mean I was all right with the whole "be in love with a student but keep your hands off" plan but then yesterday that spell was just amazing. I don't even remember leaning forward to kiss her but then I was and it was the most incredible feeling I've ever had. If I hadn't known that I was in love with her before the kiss, it definitely sealed it. Oh Goddess!

This really is a Hellmouth isn't it? I mean what are the chances? Faith and I move here to fight evil in general and vampires in specific and instead I manage to fall in love with a teenager and probably ruin my career. What ever happened to good old-fashioned apocalypses?

I turn and walk down the porch stairs and start back toward the school and our apartment beyond. Great, a nice three-mile walk to really round out the afternoon. I should have stopped to get my bike from Willow's truck before running away yesterday. Oh yeah, that would have been so smooth: "Hi. Sorry I ran away but can I get my bike to run away even better now?" Very smooth.

The voice shocked me from my self-admonishment. Not that I need that much more admonishment. I mean I spent all afternoon and all night last night beating myself up for my bad judgment.

"Um…Dawn?" I asked as I recognized the girl Willow had pointed out as her friend and Buffy's sister.

"Do you live this way?" She asked, clearly puzzled to see me in this area. Yep, that's right folks, us po folk live the other direction.

"Oh," Dawn smiled, "she's at our house. She was upset about something and left immediately after school." She complained, "Like she couldn't give me a ride home just because she's so upset."

"A-at your h-house?" I confirmed hoping that Dawn would agree to take me there. Then I could talk to Willow and at least feel better about everything.

"Yeah," Dawn answered, "do you want to come with me? You just passed it a few blocks ago."

We started walking and I knew that Dawn was checking me out, trying to figure out what was up with me. "Are you ok?" she asked. She's kind of sweet.

"Yes," she answered dryly, "because your good mood is both obvious and contagious."

"I just n-need to talk to Willow about something that happened," I explained hoping that she wouldn't ask for details. I mean, what could I say? "Oh, I practically molested your sister's best friend and now my career is probably over."

"What?" I responded quickly, "no not in class. I mean Willow isn't in any of my classes. I only teach Junior English and she's a Senior."

"You teach Junior English and Willow's a senior?" Dawn repeated slowly. She had a strange look on her face but I'm not sure why. Suddenly she got very cheery. "Do you like teaching?"

Finally. A topic I could talk comfortably about. I probably was too much of a chatterbox but I filled what could have been an awkward silence for the next block and a half until we reached a house with a mailbox out front that said: "Summers." I'm not sure I had known Buffy's and Dawn's last names.

Dawn bounded up the porch stairs with a sudden and surprising burst of energy. "Willow!" she shouted, "I have a surprise for you!"

"Dawn Summers!" Willow shouted back as she came down the hallway toward us, "how many bloody times have I told you not to shout in the house? And how many times have I told you not to touch my computer? You lost five days of my work and now I'll have to spend the weekend recreating it!" God, I didn't even know Willow could get that angry. If she was a cartoon, she would have had steam or smoke coming from her ears. I guess getting molested by a teacher didn't really improve her mood.

"Fine," Dawn answered angrily, "sorry I bothered you then." She started to stomp up the stairs before telling the redhead, "and you're not Giles so don't even try that 'bloody' thing!" A moment later I heard a door upstairs slam shut.

Willow sighed and looked like she was slowly counting to ten in her head or something. "Tara," she breathed, "I'm really sorry about that. I don't usually go off on her like that but she just doesn't respect other people's things. Just the other day she wore a pair of Buffy's favorite pants and you don't need to hear this at all. I'm sorry I guess I'm really nervous and I'm glad you came by and do you want to sit down?" She waved her hand toward the living room.

How does she do that without passing out? I think if I ever said that many words I'd lose consciousness.

I couldn't even bring myself to say one. I nodded and silently walked into the living room. A couch and a chair: I took the chair. What if I had taken the couch and she had also sat there? No, the chair is a much better choice.

"I'm sorry, Tara," Willow said as she was sitting down, "I mean about yesterday. I mean it was a mistake and I'm so sorry and I can totally understand why you ran out."

"No, I'm sorry," I said, "I s-shouldn't have…I mean…I'm so sorry Willow." I hated that it seemed that she was blaming herself.

"You shouldn't be sorry," Willow argued, "I'm the one…I mean totally the one. Yep, the one is me who should be sorry."

Goddess, she's the most adorable creature on the planet. When she concentrates, the tip of her tongue sticks out. It's just the best…Argghhh!

"We're both sorry," I summed up. Then the biggie: "I was going to g-go and file a report in the morning." And ruin any chance I have of finishing my teaching certificate or ever getting a teaching job. Way to go Maclay.

"Oh," Willow seeming somewhat surprised at my plan, "I can do that. I mean if you'd prefer."

I took a deep breath. I needed to put some distance between us – some authority. "What happened was inappropriate and I think that the authority f-figure needs to take some responsibility for it." Oh yeah, that sounded very authoritative except for the stupid stutter. "You know, the student/t-teacher aspect?"

"The authority figure," she echoed quietly looking like she'd just been admonished. I didn't mean to make her feel like a kid. It's just that I need to put the distance between us.

"Would you like to do it together?" she asked. I guess she wanted to get to tell what I did. Actually it was a good idea.

"Sure," I agreed, "let's meet at 8:00?" Great, 16 hours till I destroy my life. Ok, till I finish destroying my life. Melodramatic much, Maclay?

I stood up nervously. We had nothing else to talk about so I better go. "Is my bike…?" I started.

"Oh," Willow answered, "it's on the back porch." She turned and went down the hallway.

The war of 1812 was in 1812. Ok, that seemed likely anyway. I should have let T clep this class for me when she did hers. But no. I wanted to have integrity and take all my classes myself. So here I am having to take stupid Freshman level History my final year of college. Like T's integrity is doing her so much good.

I mean, sure kissing Red was a dumb thing to do but going and reporting it is even dumber. Why not just say, "It can't happen again" and move along? I'd be sorry we moved here except the fighting is awesome. We never had this many vamps in Cleveland. And then there's Buffy to fight during the day. Actually I wonder if she'd want to try taking on some vamps at night? She's got the moves.

Light knocking interrupted my return to studying but I didn't feel that disappointed. I mean, how sad can you be about missing a few minutes of studying? I'm taking it pass/fail anyway so I only have to make a 70. "Hold your horses," I called toward the door as I shut my book and walked over. There was a sword in the corner behind a plant but hopefully it blended in with the "décor."

"What?" Buffy answered, "I…uh…did you lose this?" she asked, holding out her hand.

"Come on in," I said as I took a step back. She came in and shut the door behind her still holding out her fist. I put mine under hers and then raised it to slowly caress her skin. Nothing like a little touch to try and start something moving between us.

Good, the caress worked. I opened my hand to see a leather cord and a handful of wooden beads.

"Thanks, B," I told her sincerely, "T would kill me if she knew this broke yesterday while we were sparring."

"Anya found it when she was cleaning up and I thought it was probably yours," Buffy explained.

"You want a drink?" I offered as I turned toward the kitchen and saw her nod. I dumped the bracelet parts in a cup so none of them would get lost and returned with two beers. I don't know if Tara could use the same parts again or if she would need entirely new stuff but I didn't want to lose any of it. She'd be mad enough about my not wearing it. Note to self: Keep eyes extra open for demons in the house. Without the bracelet, I'd have to notice them myself. Woo hoo.

I handed Buffy her drink and clinked them together. "To worthy opponents," I whispered. Damn, that woman was definitely worthy. I hadn't yet found her limit in sparing and I was going nearly full-speed and full-strength. I wonder about her stamina?

"What smirk?" I argued. Ok, I was definitely smirking. I mean I've been with a lot of women. Wait, let me amend that. I've been with A LOT of women. But this one's got moves. I wonder what kind of moves she would have in bed.

B seemed to take a deep breath before she stepped closer. "I bet I could get that smirk off your face," she whispered.

I was going to grab her and kiss her hard but I didn't have the chance. My beer bottle fell to the floor as she pressed our lips together. God, it was like the woman needed me like her life's blood. Her softness and her strength warring as our mouths crushed together. It only took a step back to pull her down on top of me onto the couch.

I jumped from the couch the moment I felt the vibration in the bracelet. Ok. Let's try to think logically. I took a few deep breaths. A demon is in our yard. It's daylight so it's not a vampire unless it's covered with a blanket, which isn't very cool. Could be a benign demon but what would one be doing at our house?

"Willow!" I shouted down the hallway as I saw her wheeling my bike. "I n-n-need a ride h- home," I pleaded.

"I thought you wanted your bike," Willow argued. Of course it wouldn't make any sense to her.

The vibration intensified. Goddess, that's a strong demon. And now it's in the house.

I had no idea what was upsetting Tara so badly but I wasn't about to deny her anything. I think I'd really done enough already. What with dating her and then kissing her. And she was right. It's all my fault. Teacher and age and power differential and everything. Well, we'd make our report in the morning and it will be in the open.

I grabbed my keys and shouted to Dawn that I was going out, slamming the front door harder than I intended on the way. By the time I reached the Jeep, her hand was on the handle. I popped the locks and we both jumped in. Seeing how upset she was, I started the ignition without even getting my seatbelt fastened and started from the driveway while fastening it.

"Th-th-that way," Tara pointed and I laid rubber turning right. Actually it was kind of cool. Like being in an action movie where the two female leads need to stop a crime and they only have two minutes to get to the day care center and they have to race through intersections and screech around corners.

It's a wonder I don't get headaches from the things I think. I made a few more turns according to Tara's nearly panicked directions. And glanced out the corner of my eye. Tara was biting her lip in frustration and obvious fear. I couldn't imagine what had her so upset. She played nervously, almost obsessively, with the bracelet she always wore. "What's wrong, Tara?" I asked as I reached out to pat her hand.

Perhaps it shows just how upset she was that she didn't even try to push my hand away.

"Whatever's wrong," I tried to assure her, "we'll take it on together." Who knew if she trusts me but we're both witches and surely we can do something.

"Here!" she shouted and I slammed on the brakes to turn sharply into a gravel driveway next to a big white house. Before I even got the car turned off, she was jumping from the front seat. I expected her to run into the house but instead saw her sprinting toward a small garage at the end of the driveway.

I frantically pulled open the door knowing that Willow was right behind me. I felt reassured that she wanted to help but wasn't sure if I wanted to drag her into the demon-fighting life Faith and I lead. Just because she's a witch doesn't mean she should have to spend her time doing this.

I knew it! I knew there was something completely suspicious about Buffy. Faith was pinned beneath the blonde, struggling against her. Buffy had each of Faith's wrists in her hands and both girls turned their heads toward the door. I could see the look of horror on Buffy's face as she realized she'd been interrupted in her attack.

My best friend. My best straight friend. My best friend who happens to be straight.

Ok, my best friend who says Faith makes her feel bendy. Completely making out with Faith. The shock and anger on Tara's face was surprising. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe they are a couple. But Tara's never acted like they were a couple so why the upset?

I was so busy attempting to understand the scene that I didn't even notice Tara readying the spell that she cast a split-second after we entered the room.

"Separate," she said through clenched teeth and Buffy tumbled to the floor. Instantly Faith stood and easily caught the sword Tara flipped her from the corner.

"Demon!" Tara accused pointing at Buffy. Buffy's wide-eyed gaze caught mine as she was pinned to the floor, now by the tip of the sword Faith held to her throat. Its sharpness was made evident by the drop of blood forming at the point. "She set off the a-alarm," Tara added, "she's a demon."

No one moved for perhaps a half a second, maybe more. Maybe a full second as I attempted to reason this out.

What happened with the bracelet? Tara was fine…until…Until Buffy arrived and set off some sort of protection spell she set on the apartment. They thought Buffy was a demon because she set off the alarm.

Tara and Faith looked to me before glancing at each other. Then I heard them ask in unison: "What's a slayer?"

The words hung in the air for a second before Buffy responded. "I thought you were a witch," she sneered at Tara before the sensation of steel digging a little deeper into her throat turned her attention back toward Faith.

"Why don't you explain why you set off the demon alarm," Faith ordered the blonde.

"Do you think we can all dial down the aggression and just talk about this?" Willow offered hopefully. "You maybe, take seats," she glanced around noting the beat-up couch and two folding chairs in the kitchenette. "Or," she continued suggesting, "we could go to the Expresso Pump?"

Buffy rolled her eyes at her best friend. "How about a better idea," she suggested, "we go to the Magic Box and let Giles explain."

"Forget that for now," Faith declared. She took a step back lowering her sword but making it obvious that she was keeping it at the ready. "What kind of demon is a Slayer?"

"I'm not a demon," Buffy argued, "I'm the Slayer. Slayer comma The. Look it up."

"Buff," Willow said, "I don't think your attitude is helping and Faith is still holding a pretty sharp sword." She took a few steps toward Tara seeing that the blonde, while cautious wasn't making any defensive moves. "Sweetie," she pled, "we're the good guys. Why don't we go to the Magic Box and let Giles explain?"

Faith and Tara glanced at each other for a moment. Subtly Faith nodded at the witch as if to say, "You decide."

"Absolutely," the redhead agreed, glad to see the easing of the tensions in the room. Faith and Buffy eyed each other warily as the two visitors made their way from the room.

Tara shook her wrist as the vibration ceased. She hadn't really noticed how hard it had continued shaking throughout the confrontation but now she was eminently aware of its absence. Quickly she crossed to her altar, lit a candle, and whispered an incantation to suspend the spell. "Well, T," Faith started, "what do you think?"

"You think they're the good guys?" Faith asked as she crossed to place a dagger in her backpack and replaced the sword in the corner. She held out a weapon in offering to Tara.

"A few of them perhaps," Tara agreed, "let's go hear what they have to say." She shook her head to decline the weapon but pulled two weathered journals from the used bookcase leaning against the wall and stuffed them into her own backpack. The two girls started toward the door and pulled it closed behind them.

Faith locked the door and then looked around to see Buffy and Willow leaning on Willow's car. "Nice wheels, Red," Faith said as she pulled open the back door. "We'll sit in back." Buffy rolled her eyes and climbed in the passenger seat.

The foursome rode in silence until they reached the magic box. As they entered Anya greeted the group: "Hello. We are closing in 15 minutes so please spend your money quickly."

Faith quirked her eyebrow at the clerk before declaring, "You're very peculiar you know."

"Giles," Buffy called to the watcher who was at the tea service by the table, "we need your classic Watcher explanation."

Giles looked exasperated at the blonde. "Buffy Summers, why don't you speak more loudly? Now what is going on?" He continued pouring himself a cup of tea before indicating that everyone else should take a seat. Tara and Willow sat at the table but Faith and Buffy glared at each other and leaned against separate bookcases.

Seeing the looks on the other two girls' faces and not wanting this to degenerate into a fight, Willow decided to summarize the afternoon: "You know Tara and Faith. Tara set a protection spell on Faith's apartment and Buffy set it off. They think she's a demon."

"She's a m-m-mystical being," Tara argued. "I can feel her power s-signature except when she's in the workout room."

"First off," Giles spoke, "you two shouldn't have anything to do with demons." He took off his glasses and cleaned them, not noticing the eye roll the two girls shared. "Second, let me see if I remember the speech."

"This world is older than you know…," Buffy started for him in a sarcastic tone.

"Ah yes," Giles interrupted before launching into his standard "what's a slayer" spiel:

Giles sighed at his Slayer. "Yes, this is one of my favorite parts. The Slayer hunts vampires, Buffy is a Slayer," he concluded.

"So Buffy's the one girl in a-all the world to fight the forces of darkness and v-vampires?" Tara confirmed. She and Faith again shared a look.

"Ooh," Willow piped up looking across at Tara, "that's who we were looking for yesterday: the second slayer."

"Wait a second there, Red," Faith argued, "G-man just said how there's one girl in all the world doing the whole vampire slaying thing. If that's so what's the second slayer business?"

"Buffy died, I brought her back," Xander stated. Everyone looked up as they realized that he had joined the discussion.

"I came to pick Anya up for dinner and saw you all here. I figured it was either a Scooby meeting or Giles trying to get lucky with four totally hot…" The man never saw the slap from Buffy on the back of his head or the punch from his girlfriend that landed on his arm. "Yep, Scooby meeting," he said as he shook his arm.

"Four years ago," Giles answered, "much to our surprise another slayer was called."

"Well," Giles said, "not exactly. That slayer was killed a little over two years ago. We assume another rose but the watchers council hasn't been able to find her."

"Yeah," Buffy elaborated, "whoever she is, she likes to travel: Cleveland, Chicago, New York…"

"So you are super strong and fast," Faith said to Buffy, "and you … what… stake vampires through the heart and they like poof into dust?"

"O-ok," Tara looked around the group, "so you all believe this? That v-vampires exist and that Buffy is one girl in all the world meant to battle them?"

Faith and Tara looked at each other before Tara subtly nodded at the dark-haired girl. Faith turned to Willow and said, "I think I know why your spell didn't work."

Giles looked between the two girls and the rest of the Scoobies. "Bloody hell," he hissed at Tara, "you cast a masking spell on her."

Surprising everyone Anya added, "And when you tried the locator spell Faith was in the back room sparring with Buffy."

Buffy was moving toward the back room almost before her words came out of her mouth: "Let's go see if you're a Slayer."

Faith followed immediately and Xander was right behind her. "Where are you going Alexander Harris?" Anya shouted as she saw her boyfriend following the two girls.

Anya followed the young man but Willow, Tara, and Giles didn't move from the bench. "What's a W-watcher?" Tara asked as she looked at the other two.

"Oh," Tara responded, "w-w-well… maybe you sh-should have …" She reached into her bag and pulled the two journals she had quickly packed from them. All three could hear the sounds of a fierce sparing match coming from the back room. "Th-th-this is…" Rather than hand them directly to Giles she passed them across to Willow as if hoping the redhead could interpret the books.

Willow handed one to Giles while opening the second and looked at the first few pages for a minute. "You kept track of everything?" she confirmed.

"Bloody hell," Giles exclaimed as he began looking at the journals, "these are brilliant." He quickly rose to pull out a few blank journals from a shelf under the cash register. "Spells, counts, training schedule," he muttered. Suddenly he looked up and asked, "How did you make the masking spell permanent or did you keep refreshing it?"

"There w-w-were demons and then m-men looking f-for h-her all the t-t-t-…," Tara started but couldn't finish. Willow reached over to take the blonde's hand realizing that it was the first time she had touched her since the day before. It didn't escape her notice how perfect the fit seemed even in the stressful situation.

Giles sat down at the table. "I'm not questioning why you cast the spell," he attempted to reassure her. "I just wanted to know how you kept it up. Particularly since you also apparently had an active alarm spell on Faith's and I assume your apartment."

"How did you maintain the spells, sweetie?" Willow pushed as she stroked Tara's hand.

"Check it out," Faith called as she pulled up her shirt and showed the expansive tattoo on her lower back. Giles, Tara, and Willow looked up as they realized that the other four had entered the room.

Faith eagerly nodded. "She's the real thing," she answered excitedly; "I guess I'm a Slayer." She turned to the rest of the group and explained the tattoo: "The spell's in the tattoo." Simultaneously Faith and Tara looked at the windows of the shop to see that the sun had set in the last few minutes. "Well," Faith said as she looked toward the door, "this has been enlightening but we have work to do."

Faith and Tara looked at each other for a few minutes before stepping aside. Tara could see the conflict in Faith's eyes. On one hand she obviously wanted to try out her skills with a partner who could keep up with her. On the other, the two girls had been working and living together for over two years. Faith didn't want to betray all that they had shared. "Go ahead," Tara whispered.

Faith smiled brilliantly before hugging her friend. "Get Red to take you home, ok?" she instructed the blonde. Tara nodded and watched the two slayers leave the shop.

"Well," Anya announced, "I'm sure they will enjoy killing vampires and demons and sharing orgasms together." She looked around at the shocked looks on everyone's faces before adding, "Xander take me home."

Willow and Giles shared a "don't even ask" look before burying their noses deeper in the books. A moment later the phone rang. "I'm off the clock," Anya called as she and Xander went out the door.

"Of course," Giles said as he stood to answer the phone. "Oh, hello Dawn." He waited a second before answering, "Buffy's gone out to patrol but Willow is here."

Willow crossed to get the phone and quietly spoke with Dawn. Without intending to eavesdrop, Tara heard the redhead apologizing to the other girl but it didn't sound like the younger girl was forgiving her friend. Finally Willow hung up the phone with a loud sigh.

"She's mad at me for something I did earlier," Willow explained glancing at Tara.

"I'm sure she'll get over it," Giles assured the witch, "we know how emotional Dawn can be."

"Quite," Willow answered drolly. She looked at her watch before telling both Tara and Giles. "I should take her some dinner and it's getting late." She looked directly at Tara before reminding the girl, "And I need to be at school early for a meeting."

"Right, the m-m-meeting," Tara answered. During the crisis with Buffy and Faith she had been able to forget her appointment with disaster. But now Willow was reminding her of it. Goddess, if she could just forget about it and say, "won't happen again" but she couldn't.

"Do you want a ride home, Tara?" Willow offered, knowing that Tara's bicycle was still at Buffy's house.

"Actually, I'd like to visit with Tara further if that's ok?" Giles answered. "I could give you a ride home when we are done if that's acceptable."

"S-s-sure," Tara stuttered. It was obvious that Giles was nearly salivating over the journals she had kept of Faith's history and she knew that he would have questions.

"Oh," Willow answered somewhat deflated. She had been looking forward to spending the few extra minutes driving Tara home. Even facing disciplinary action for her behavior with the blonde first thing in the morning, she couldn't help wanting to spend more time together.

Seeing Willow's consternation Tara got up and walked with her to the door. "I'll w-walk you to the c-car," she offered, obviously concerned about Willow's being outside at night. Each girl clasped a cross in her hand as they went out the door of the magic box. "So I'll s-s-see you in the morning?" Tara asked tentatively.

Willow nodded to Tara's question. "Yeah," she answered with a long exhalation. "Is it the right thing?" she asked nervously.

Tara looked at the ground before nodding. "If you w-want I can d-do it by myself," she offered.

Quickly Willow reached out to take the blonde's hand. "No," she countered, "let's stick with the plan. I'll see you at 8:00?"

"Definitely," Willow answered. She got in the Jeep and started to close the window before teasing, "Have fun with Giles and try not to turn British."

Tara laughed her rich laugh at Willow's teasing. "I'll be careful," she agreed before walking back into the store.

By the time Faith and Buffy returned to the Magic Box, excited by their evening of patrolling, Tara and Giles had been reviewing her journals for a few hours. Tara agreed that Giles could keep the journals for a few days and the Englishman drove all three girls home for the night.

Willow impatiently knocked on the door once again. She could hear rustling noises coming from the small garage apartment and took the chance to look around the yard again. She hadn't noticed the broken down car lying on the grass between the garage and the house nor the old washing machine and dryer leaned against the car. Neither really added a touch of class to the area. Her heart beat in her chest as she turned her attention back to the paint peeling on the door in front of her. Just then, the doorknob jiggled and Willow was suddenly presented with the sight of Faith standing in the doorway wearing a pair of boxer shorts and nearly see-through T-shirt. In her hand she brandished a broadsword and Willow had the impression that she wasn't very happy about being woken up.

"Why in the hell are you standing on my porch at 3:00 in the morning, Red?" Faith asked in a completely flat tone.

"What are you doing here?" Faith cut her off, waving the sword in a vague but not particularly threatening way.

Willow took a deep breath before asking, "Is Tara um here? You know with you? I mean not with necessarily but here, you know sleeping? Maybe?"

Faith laughed out loud at the redhead before setting the sword by the door and physically reaching out to pull the girl into the apartment. Once she had done so, she quickly shut the door and locked the deadbolt. "I'll get her," Faith answered as soon as she finished. As she quickly crossed the room and gently opened the door by the kitchen, Willow heard her muttering, "She wakes up for every big bad that comes slinking by but not for cute redheads? Girl's got priority issues."

Willow's heart soared as she waited for Faith to return with Tara. The past 36 hours had been a whirlwind of emotion for the redhead. First there had been the amazing spell and kiss with Tara to find the missing slayer. While she had known, or at least believed, at the time that it was wrong, she couldn't deny how perfect the contact felt. When Tara had flown from the house, Willow had of course spent the next 12 hours beating herself up for her unforgivable breach of trust. And of course Tara had come to her to make it right.

And that was bad enough. Willow should have been the one to go to Tara and discuss talking to the principal. Then there were the whirlwind events of the afternoon and evening: Tara's demon alarm on Faith's apartment, explaining Buffy's destiny, finding out that Faith was a slayer and Tara a mini-watcher. It was all just amazing.

The redhead had gone home to eat a nearly silent dinner with Dawn. She attempted to apologize to the girl but Dawn huffed from the table and locked herself in her room. She'd also told the teenager about her meeting in the morning, keeping it vague – that she needed to report something inappropriate that had happened between herself and a student – in case Dawn wanted a ride to school. When Dawn had stormed out, Willow had been too tired and upset to do more than just let the teenager go. Finally the witch had taken a long hot shower before pouring herself into bed to sleep, knowing that when she woke she had an appointment with disaster.

Only she hadn't fallen asleep. Her mind wouldn't quiet and let her relax. Willow attempted to use the relaxation techniques Tara had, ironically enough, attempted to teach her but it was no use. Her mind ran and ran in circles. Something was tickling at the edges, easing its way in, not pounding on the door but irritating her as if she should be figuring something out.

Not Tara and Faith but something that she should be able to figure out about Tara and Faith. It was obvious to Willow that the two girls were very close. Willow felt a spark of jealousy over the two girls' relationship. They way they had spoken to each other today made it almost as if they were more than friends, as if they were family. But she knew they weren't sisters and it was obvious that they weren't lovers. Wasn't it?

How long had they been friends and how much older was Faith than the blonde? Yet is seemed as if Tara held most of the authority in their relationship. And she had cast the spell on Faith's apartment. Wow, what a spell that was. She cast and held a spell on Faith's apartment while simultaneously masking Faith's essence? And she must have another spell on her family's house. Faith's demon spell obviously triggered the bracelet that Willow now realized the blonde always wore.

The redhead nearly kicked herself when she realized that she should have been able to sense the spell on Tara's bracelet when they had linked for the spell. There had been a tickling of her senses, as if the blonde were holding other spells but Willow had thought nothing of it.

So if Faith's apartment spell were linked to Tara's bracelet, what was Tara's home's spell linked to?

Willow couldn't remember the blonde ever wearing another piece of jewelry, not one that would be capable of holding the alarm for her spell. As she analyzed the feeling from their linked spell she realized that she hadn't felt a second spell either, only the first one.

So why would the blonde be so careful about Faith's apartment but not her own home? Unless…

Unless Faith's apartment is also Tara's? Willow had sat up suddenly in bed as the possibility hit her. What would that mean? That Faith and Tara are roommates? Lovers? No that one couldn't be possible. But roommates? Why would a high school student live with a Slayer college student?

Before the redhead even thought about it she was out the front door of the Summers house and driving vaguely toward Faith's run-down apartment. The first trip there had been insanely fast and she was highly stressed but she easily retraced the journey over now deserted streets.

"Tara," Willow breathed as she saw Tara walking toward her, looking disheveled and sleepy and confused and lovely at the same time.

The redhead wanted to slowly explain all her questions. To trace down the complete story. To know everything. "You live here with Faith," she hastily shouted, not meaning to shout but it had come out that way.

Tara reacted with shock to what she took to be an accusation from the redhead. "Y-y-yes," she stuttered. Realizing that Willow thought she had been leading her on and cheating on Faith she felt compelled to explain: "We're not…I mean I would never…" She exhaled slowly Willow's expression was unreadable. How could the redhead believe that she would use her like that? How could Tara let the young girl know how much she cared for her? That you love her? She took a step forward to try and explain. To say…

"You're wearing your pajamas," she suddenly giggled as she took in Willow's attire. The younger girl wore pajama bottoms with jelly beans all over them, a pink T-shirt with a kitten on the chest, and no shoes.

"I was in a hurry," Willow quickly explained as she glanced down at her pajamas. I look like a child dressed like this, she criticized herself. Tara on the other hand looked stunning in a tank top and boxer shorts. Ok, maybe not stunning but sexy. "Why do you live with Faith?" Willow expelled

Tara crinkled her brow as she took the final step to bring her close to Willow. "I…I…I would never w-want to hurt you, Willow," she answered as she reached out to run her hand down the redhead's arm. "She's my r-roommate and that's all." She took a breath as she tried to explain, "not all. I mean she's like family."

Surprising the blonde, a smile spread across Willow's face. "You live with Faith…because you're both in college?" She waited a second as she continued with her guesses: "And since you don't get paid for being…a…student teacher?"

Tara again crinkled her brow, almost a flinch as she tried to understand Willow's question. It was probably only a second but felt like much longer before she answered: "Yes, I mean…scholarships o-only…"

That was as far as she got as she felt Willow reach up with her hands to grasp the blonde's cheeks and press their lips together. And then that feeling. That perfect amazing fantastic feeling of the connection between them. Tara wrapped her fingers tightly around the back of Willow's head, feeling the silkiness of her hair and pulling her closer as she sucked the redhead's tongue into her mouth. Willow moaned and Tara suddenly regained her senses, pulling back her mouth and using her palms to gently push the redhead away at the shoulders.

"Willow," Tara quickly breathed, "we c-c-can't…you know…" The blonde panicked and felt a moment of unbelievable anger that Willow was acting so recklessly. Coming to her apartment in the middle of the night, asking obvious questions, and now kissing her.

And smiling more widely than Tara had ever seen her. Her grin erupting from her face although Tara was panicking. Actually the blonde was starting to get pissed off. After all, it was Tara's career in danger and Willow was attempting tempt her and taking great joy in it. Frustrated, the blonde put her hands on her hips and opened her mouth to begin her angry rant.

"Willow Rosenberg," Tara admonished knowing that she was lapsing into full teacher mode, a mode she'd never even used in class, "y-you kn-now that we c…"

"Because I'm a student and you're a teacher and nothing can happen between us?" Willow asked with that silly grin on her face.

Tara took a step to go past Willow and show her the door. The redhead had such a damn silly smirk on her face that Tara was feeling perfectly willing to kick her out in the middle of the night: pajamas and all. "Yes, Willow," Tara said stiffly. She was about to say something else when she felt Willow's hand wrap around her arm. As always the touch was electric.

Willow saw the look on Tara's face and decided that enough was enough. The blonde looked thoroughly pissed and Willow was ready to let her in on the secret. Having kept it for 30 seconds she was ready to tell her love: "I'm not a student, Tara," she whispered.

"Oh Willow," Tara said softly, "you can't drop-out." She took a deep breath, "I'll wait for you until summer. I p-promise." She ran her fingertip along the redhead's jawline, shocked at herself for making such a bold statement. Until now, both girls had always skirted the topic of their relationship, of their future, but Willow just couldn't drop out of school.

"I'm not a student, Tara," Willow explained, "I'm the computer teacher at the high school. I thought you were a student."

Tara's mouth dropped open as she processed what Willow told her. Willow was smiling as she began to again step toward the blonde but Tara took a step backwards. "You're a t-teacher at the high school?" she repeated dumbly.

Willow took a step forward to mirror the one Tara had taken backward. Reaching her hand out to tuck a strand of Tara's hair behind her ear she smiled as she explained, "I thought you were a student all this time."

Willow nodded as she gently wrapped her arms about Tara's neck and began leaning forward for a kiss.

"What?" Willow gasped, "I kissed? Well I thought you were a student but you weren't really a student. I mean…well I made a mistake but it wasn't really because there was nothing wrong with…Hey, you thought I was student too…" She was pulling her arms away when she felt Tara's hands wrap around her forearms.

"I was teasing you, sweetie," the blonde whispered before bringing her lips slowly to the redhead's. This time the contact was soft and gentle and slow and everything perfect. More so because they didn't have to stop. The kiss went on and on as first Willow and then Tara parted her lips and touched her tongue to the other girl's.

Finally, minutes and longer minutes later the two girls pulled only far enough away to look at each other. Slowly a grin spread across Tara's face. Then Willow's face began to match hers. Within seconds both girls were laughing so hard they had to break apart as tears rolled down their faces. "Hey, people are sleeping," Faith shouted from her room, effectively interrupting the two girls.

Tara shouted her apology before looking at the clock. "It's nearly 4:30, Willow," she whispered.

"I'm way ahead of you," Willow answered as she extended her hand to lead Tara into her own bedroom.

As soon as the door closed, the two women returned to kissing each other. They started slowly but quickly their contact became passionate. Hands roamed under the limited sleeping attire each wore and they moved toward the bed in a tangle of limbs. Willow was the first to sneak her hand under the waistband of Tara's boxer shorts. "Oh God," the blonde moaned as she felt Willow's fingers lightly brush her hairs.

"Tara," Willow whispered as she absorbed the sensation of Tara's damp curls on her fingers. Suddenly she stilled her hand and slowly pulled it from Tara's shorts.

"Willow?" Tara questioned as she attempted to recover from the sudden withdrawal of the redhead's hand. Was it a mistake to let it go this far? Why had Willow suddenly stopped?

"Well, yeah," Willow answered, "I mean I want to get to know you better and I don't want you to think I think that you're the kind of girl who um you know without even going on a date or anything."

"All evidence to the contrary," Tara giggled. Willow looked thoroughly confused for a moment before Tara answered, "Yes, I'd love to go out with you."

"Tonight, sweetie," Tara agreed as she too began yawning. Realizing that both girls were yawning nearly nonstop, they silently agreed to sleep for a few hours before school. Tara rolled over to set her alarm before opening her arms to gather Willow within them. They slept their few hours completely wrapped together and as blissful as two sleeping women can be.

A few hours later Tara's alarm clock rang shocking both girls. Surprisingly Willow felt no disorientation about her current position. She leaned over and kissed Tara gently before easing from the bed. "You don't want to go to school like that?" the blonde teased.

Tara nodded. "Well," she teased, "we can cross meeting with Principal Wood off our list."

"Definitely," Willow agreed leaning in for one more kiss. Tara led her to the front door and they took a few minutes breaking their kiss before Willow ran quickly to the car and started it.

Pulling from the driveway, Willow noticed that the voicemail light on her phone, which she had left in the Jeep, was blinking. She retrieved the message as she drove:

"Hey, Will. It's me Buffy." Willow waited as a few beats passed. "I was thinking about something and it's going to sound crazy but I had a thought." Again the slayer's voice paused. "What if Tara's not a high school student? I mean she and Faith have been working together for years and when I was at Faith's apartment yesterday she pointed out Tara's room and well, it had college text books in it." Willow laughed as she heard the end of the message: "It's probably a crazy stupid idea but I just thought, maybe the forbidden girl isn't so forbidden."

Willow laughed as she pulled up to the house and got out of the car wincing slightly from the feel of the cold ground on her bare feet.

Faith waited until she heard the door close and the car start up before knocking on Tara's bedroom door. "T," she half leered as she saw the blonde laying on her bed smiling.

"You're in love," Faith announced knowingly as she walked over to sit by Tara on the bed.

"Better news than the woman I love leaving my bed at 6:30 in the morning?" Tara asked.

"Hell, the woman you love not leaving your bed at 6:30 in the morning would be better than that, T," Faith assured her. "I know you're hung up on this whole student/teacher thing," she started, not noticing the smile that spread across Tara's face. "Last night when B and I were patrolling," Faith started, "we were talking about our 'adventures in Slaying' and she said that when she and Xander and Willow were Juniors, someone sent her a demon arm for her birthday and when they were Seniors, the watchers council tried to kill her to test her."

"You're missing the point, T," Faith pointed out. "Buffy said when they were all Juniors and Seniors. They're the same age." She nodded as she said, "I don't think Willow's a high school student." Faith demonstrated her pride in her cognitive abilities by nodding her head once before turning and walking from the room. "You can thank me however you see fit," she shouted from her room before shutting the door. Tara laughed again as reset the alarm clock to sleep another hour.

"I'm trying to sleep," the blonde answered, "so unless you want to have morning sex, let me rest."

"If Faith's the Slayer and she and Tara have been killing vampires, then I don't think there's a big bad," Xander explained pleased with himself.

Anya lifted herself on her elbow and smiled at her boyfriend, "you just figured that out?" She smiled again and moved her hand lower. "I'm so glad I don't just love you for your brain," she announced.

Willow whistled through her shower and getting dressed. By the time she got to the kitchen table she was positively glowing. She poured herself a cup of coffee and made some toast. She would have just enough time to eat before going to school. She smiled as she thought about how she didn't have to go and meet with the principal today.

"Hi Dawn," Willow answered. She was in a great mood and felt like Dawn could have asked to borrow her laptop and carry it around on her head and Willow would have agreed.

Dawn poured herself some cereal and started eating. "I wanted to say I'm really sorry about messing up your computer. I shouldn't have borrowed it without asking."

"I know, Dawn," Willow answered, "I'm sorry I yelled at you in front of Tara yesterday." Her mouth quirked up at the mention of Tara's name.

"She um she's not a student," Dawn explained, "she's a teacher. I was going to tell you when we walked in but then you…" she trailed off as Willow began laughing and continued until she could no longer eat. The redhead threw her toast in the garbage, gave Dawn a hug and told her that she would be ready to leave in five minutes if the teenager wanted a ride to school.

Giles paced as her poured yet another cup of tea. He had been up all night reading and taking notes from Tara's journals. Her work was meticulous and quite impressive and he'd been on the telephone for hours describing the content to Quentin Travers. He wasn't surprised when Travers told him a team of watchers would be there by sundown to meet Faith and Tara and to copy the books if Tara allowed it.

Finally exhaling, he dialed the telephone. "Giles? What's wrong?" Willow immediately asked.

"I know you are on the way to school," Giles started, "or at least I assume so."

"Ah yes," Giles continued, "I've been reviewing Tara's journals." His excitement was evident to the redhead as he gushed about the work: "The work is quite brilliant. I've explained to the watchers council about it and they are thoroughly impressed."

"Giles," Willow interrupted, "are you going somewhere relevant to me?" Dawn had pulled into the student lot and handed Willow the keys before getting out of the car to join her friends.

"Yes," Giles started nervously, "you know that I am loathe to be involved in any of your how-do-I-say social lives?"

"Yes, Giles," Willow agreed drolly, "we've all heard the 'I'm not here to give you dating advice' speech a few times."

"Right then," Giles agreed taking a deep breath before continuing. "Well I have read quite a bit of Tara's brilliant journals."

"Yes," Giles agreed, "it seems apparent from the journals that you have made a mistake." He continued, "I believe that Tara has been a college student the entire time that she and Faith have been battling vampires."

Willow was laughing even before Giles finished speaking. "Thank you, Giles," she managed to sputter. She stepped from the jeep as she saw Tara locking up her bike and walked over to the blonde smiling. "Yes," Tara heard Willow say, "thank you again."

"Good morning, Willow," Tara whispered sexily as the redhead folded her phone closed.

"Good morning, again," Willow smiled. "We were a little too quick. Buffy thinks you're in college, Dawn says you're a teacher, and Giles says your journals show you're a college student."

Tara laughed as they walked toward the school. "Faith came in to say that you were a Junior and Senior at the same time as Buffy and Xander so you are legal too."

"Miss Rosenberg, Miss Maclay," principal Wood interrupted as he caught up with the girls. "I'd like to have a meeting of the faculty volunteers for the Halloween event this afternoon at 4:00. Can you both make it?"

"Sure," the witches agreed in unison. Neither could keep from laughing as they walked toward their separate classrooms.

Willow pulled into the dirt driveway, her eyes opening in shock as she took in the crowd of vehicles lining the grass and dirt. "Ok, is the president visiting and I missed the news bulletin?" she muttered to herself. The six identical black Suburbans with tinted windows certainly gave the impression of a figurehead on vacation with his secret service agents but why would he be here? In comparison to the major testosterone load, Giles's red convertible looked particularly middle- aged-crisisy.

The redhead parked her Jeep at the end of one of the rows of SUVs and grabbed her cell phone and keys before locking the door. She idly wondered how many people could possibly fit in Tara's apartment. Upon reaching the door she heard an unmistakable English accent. Watcher's council, she concluded as she knocked quietly.

Apparently no one heard either the first or the second knock so she pulled the door open and allowed her gaze to roam around the room looking for Tara, Faith, or Giles. Giles sat on the sofa with an older man while other men and women stood around the room looking British and stuffy. The man on the sofa was the same one who had been speaking when Willow approached and he didn't pause as she stepped inside and allowed the door to close behind her. Tara smiled at her from her position on the other side of the room. Faith and Tara stood in front of their kitchen table and the Slayer had her arms crossed defensively over her chest.

"Do you just let anyone in to discuss council business, Rupert?" the older man now challenged.

"This is Willow Rosenberg," Giles returned, "I hardly think she'll be shocked by anything you have to say."

"Yeah," Faith added, "and a quick look at the clock tells me that Red is here for her date so maybe you kids should just head home for the evening."

"Miss Rosenberg," the man greeted her stiffly, "I'm sure Miss Maclay won't mind your waiting in your car for a few more minutes."

"I'm sure Miss Maclay would want to point out that Miss Rosenberg was invited," Faith again argued, "while you were not." She added, "And she's on time which we know is crucial for a first date." She smiled at the redhead who blushed furiously.

"Are we f-finished?" Tara asked, noting the way both Faith and certain of the watchers seemed to be losing their tempers.

"I believe so," the speaker, who Willow later found out was Quentin Travers, agreed. He pointed at a man standing near the sofa and explained, "This is Mr. Spoon. He will be your new watcher."

"What's your n-name?" Tara asked a woman standing near the front door of the apartment.

"April Cheeves," the woman answered somewhat timidly and with a glance to Travers.

Travers inhaled loudly before standing and moving toward the two girls. "I appreciate your input," he said. "It was lovely to meet you both," he said as warmly as Willow imagined he had the capacity to and extended his hand to them.

Both girls shook hands with Travers and he turned and left the room. Moments later, Giles, Tara, Faith, and Willow heard the convoy of vehicles drive away. "Well done," Giles attempted to assure the girls, "and for the record I appreciate your including me on your list of acceptable watchers."

Faith nodded at the watcher and turned to Tara. "I'm going to patrol with Buffy later, T," she assured the blonde and then went into her room shutting the door behind her.

"Well," Giles said, "I guess that is my cue to leave. I hope you girls enjoy your evening."

"Thanks, Giles," Willow agreed as she walked over to the blonde. Without censoring herself Willow quickly leaned in to kiss Tara and felt the affection returned. "Hi," she whispered as she leaned their foreheads together.

"Right then," Giles said as he cleared her throat. "I'll be going. Thank you for having us here Tara," he mumbled as he let the door slam behind him.

"No doubt," Willow agreed as she again brought her lips to the blonde's. Finally, Tara pulled away with a frustrated sigh.

"I'm impressed that you're on time," she started, "b-but I didn't expect the w-watchers and …"

Tara giggled at Willow's question. "I thought I'd take a quick shower and change clothes. Do you mind?" Willow shook her head and her eyes glazed over slightly at the thought of Tara in the shower. Naked Tara. Naked Wet Tara

"Willow?" Tara asked again as she wondered just where the redhead's brain might have gone.

"Oh sorry," Willow said blushing as she realized that Tara was trying to get her attention. As she noted the way the blonde's eyebrow was raised slightly in a curious and suspicious way she explained, "I was just …um …I'm so glad you're not a student."

Tara laughed again as her suspicions of the nature of Willow's thought pattern were confirmed. She leaned in and kissed the girl before telling her, "Help yourself to a drink while I get ready."

Willow looked around the apartment again as she took a seat on the couch. The room wasn't dirty, just run down looking. Looking for something to keep her busy she focused on the journal on the table. Just as she was picking it up, the door to Faith's room opened. Willow smiled at the Slayer before returning her attention to the journal. It took a few seconds for her to realize that Faith had joined her on the couch. "Um hi, Faith?" Willow said as the intensity of the dark-haired girl made her uneasy.

"I've been thinking of how to say this," Faith started. "I thought about being subtle or bringing over some weapons and sharpening them while being less subtle," she continued. "But finally I decided to be direct."

"Tara is my best friend and the only family I have," the dark-haired slayer told Willow, "if you hurt her I will come after you and make you very sorry." She stood up from the couch and patted the stunned redhead on the shoulder. "Have a great time tonight," she said cheerily before reentering her room and closing the door.

The redhead sat on the couch and tried to control her breathing. She had just been blatantly and directly threatened by a Slayer. Not that she was planning on hurting Tara, but this pretty much cemented the whole "don't hurt Tara" plan. As she looked at her watch and saw that Tara would still be a few more minutes, she decided to look through the witch's journal after all. She didn't look up until she heard the door to Tara's room open.

Willow looked up and smiled as she saw the blonde coming forward. She was wearing a pair of white jeans and a royal blue top. Her hair was pulled back from her face and Willow noted that she had even put on a little makeup. "Wow," the redhead breathed as she stood up and wiped her hands on her own jeans.

Tara smiled flirtatiously. "Hey baby," she whispered before wrapping the redhead in a hug. As she was enjoying the contact, her stomach started growling.

"Well," Tara purred, "you did say you wanted to take me on a date before we made love."

Willow gulped audibly. "Right," she said in a high pitched voice as she stepped back but kept one hand in Tara's.

"See you later, Faith," Tara called toward her roommate's closed door and the two witches stepped outside. Seeing Willow's car at the end of the driveway, Tara apologized: "Sorry about the Watcher's parking lot."

"That's ok," Willow assured her as she opened her door to let Tara in, "I'd walk much longer than that for a date with you."

"Do you like Thai food?" Willow asked. "Because I thought we would go to this nice Thai place but if you don't like Thai food or you've never had it or wanted something else, we can go somewhere else but not Pizza because Buffy and Dawn will likely be there and if we go for Chinese we may run into Xander and Anya and Giles really likes Shoneys, which I can't understand at all because everything there tastes like everything else but then he's English and what did the Watcher's council want?"

Tara laughed – a full rich laugh as she leaned lightly against the door of the car, keeping her hand on Willow's and watching the girl's adorable profile. "Thai food sounds great," she assured the girl. "You know," she started, "'welcome to being a slayer. Thanks for the good slays. Rah rah rah."

"Woo hoo," Willow echoed dryly as she pulled into a parking space and jumped out to open Tara's door.

"No money though," Tara continued, "thanks for being the Slayer but it doesn't pay. What do they think that we live on?"

"That's why Buffy works and is in school and why I live with Buffy and Dawn," Willow agreed. "I once sent them a persuasive paper attempting to convince them that the Slayer needs a stipend but they gave Buffy a whole 'Destiny doesn't pay' speech."

"I want to come back to w-why you live with Buffy and Dawn," Tara said as they sat at the table, "but they did make an offer."

"They want to buy my journals," Tara explained, "apparently they can't pay Faith for being a Slayer or me for working with her for two years but they want my journals."

"You should negotiate for the last $3000," Willow said excitedly, "but it's a fantastic offer either way." She lifted her water glass to toast: "Congratulations, baby. I mean Tara. Not baby because I probably shouldn't call you baby yet so Congratulations, Tara."

Tara clinked her glass against the redhead's, thinking that she was falling more and more in love with the girl's babbling, "You can call me b-baby," she whispered before taking a drink.

"Excuse me," the waiter said quietly, "I thought you might like a bottle of wine since you are obviously celebrating." He held out the wine menu before settling on handing it to Willow.

Willow looked over the menu before selecting a wine. She pointed at her selection on the card and was pleased to see Tara nod. Turning to the waiter she again repeated her selection and was shocked as the man asked to see her identification. Her stammered lie that she had left her ID in the car brought a raised eyebrow from Tara but the blonde smoothly showed the waiter her own card. As he walked off with a promise to return momentarily with the bottle Tara asked skeptically, "You left your ID in the car?"

Willow grinned embarrassedly. "Um, well, I'm not exactly completely totally 21 yet," she whispered.

"I graduated from high school a year early and finished college in three years," Willow explained, "so I won't be 21 until Halloween."

Tara smiled as she remembered, "that's why you said you weren't old enough to drink that night at the B-bronze."

"Right," Tara agreed, "you're not a student; you're a brilliant teacher who graduated from MIT at age 20 and then moved in with her best friend to help raise the friend's sister." She leaned across the table and lightly kissed the girl on the lips. "No wonder I'm falling in love with you," she whispered.

As the blonde leaned back she noted the way Willow was opening and closing her mouth as if she couldn't think of words. Just as it appeared at the girl was about to speak the waiter approached and asked for their orders. Tara ordered a Tofu dish extra spicy while Willow ordered a chicken curry and vegetarian appetizers for them.

Still nervous from Tara's earlier pronouncement, Willow changed subjects: "So no male watcher for Faith huh? Well, not counting Giles that is."

Tara got a serious set to her jaw as she nodded, "There's no way Faith is going to t-take orders from some pseudo-father-figure."

"Her father, her childhood was…," Tara trailed off. "Mr. Giles or Ms. Cheeves or we go on free-lance."

Willow noted the way the blonde's anger radiated off her in waves. Taking a chance she suggested, "Yours too? I mean father issues."

Tara smiled slightly as she noted Willow's sensitivity. "Definite father issues," she agreed. "As Inigo Montoya says, 'Let me splain. No takes too long; let me sum up.'" She did a very bad Spanish accent which brought a smile to Willow's face. She took a sip of the wine before explaining, "By the time I was 8, I understood that the Maclay family had a secret: the women in our family were all demons."

"What?" Willow asked, incredulously. She wondered how this incredible, beautiful person could possibly be a demon. You'd think Xander would have wanted to go out with her? she thought sarcastically as she tried to recover from the shock of Tara's admission.

Tara waited for the waiter to set down their plates and leave before continuing her story. "Yep, all demons. All of us. My f-father made it clear that it was something to be very ashamed about. He also let me know that the men in the family had a responsibility to control the demon." Willow nodded to let her date know that she could continue. "He had some particularly…persuasive methods of controlling the demon."

"Oh God," Willow gasped as she reached out to hold Tara's hand. She was surprised to see the blonde smile.

"But," Tara continued, "my mother explained the Maclay family heritage to me. The women in my family weren't demons: we're witches." She took a bite and savored the flavor before telling Willow, "My father and brother thought they could control us with violence."

"You know the three-fold law?" Tara asked before finishing her story: "A simple shielding spell and a prayer for a three-fold return for their actions." She smiled somewhat victoriously: "My father and brother always seemed to have a lot of accidents. Eventually they forgot to discipline me." She concluded her tale: "I left for college and never went back."

"Not even to visit your mother?" Willow asked before remembering that Tara's mother had died four years earlier. "Oh God," she gasped, "I'm so sorry baby. I forgot that…"

Tara pulled the redhead's hands toward her and slowly kissed her fingertips. "Thanks, Willow," she whispered, "but let's not c-concentrate on that tonight."

Willow nodded but didn't pull away her hands, enjoying the Tara's soft breath on her skin. After a moment, both girls smiled and giggled as they glanced at their cooling food. They dropped hands and picked up their chopsticks. A few minutes passed as they talked about their Halloween responsibilities and Willow related the tale of the year that all the kids turned into their costumes.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Spike said as he quickly turned the third chair at their table around and sat straddling the back.

Tara's hand tightened about her chopstick as she turned it with the point facing outward. She was surprised to hear Willow address the vampire. "Spike," the redhead hissed, "great I thought I had planned everyone to avoid tonight."

"Very cute, Red," Spike said, obviously assessing Tara. "You must be the witch who works with the new Slayer."

"Another long story," Willow said with a frown. "He's harmless." "Hey, give a bloke a little respect," the blonde vampire argued.

"Right, right, right," Spike muttered as she stood from the table, taking his to-go container with him. He pointed at Tara telling her, "Let your Slayer know I'm on your side."

"He really is," Willow agreed as she saw Tara's raised eyebrow. Looking down she realized that both girls had finished their dinners. Neither felt hungry enough for desert and they decided to leave the restaurant. "Do you want to walk for a while?" the redhead offered.

The two girls slowly strolled through downtown Sunnydale. The city was nearly deserted as most people had learned not to venture forth after dark.

Nearing the car again, Willow felt surprised as Tara suddenly pressed her against the car. The blonde stroked Willow's arms from the shoulders to the hands and back up. Slowly she moved closer, insinuating her knee between the redhead's knees. Her lips brushed the shorter girl's ear as she whispered, "Now you've taken me on a date. What would you like to do?" punctuating the question by slowly tracing her tongue along the other girl's neck.

Willow moaned as she felt Tara's flirtatious question, followed by the lick on her neck. She could feel her heart beating as she grasped the other girl's hips in her fingers. Unsure of her ability to speak coherently she merely gasped, "Yes."

Tara took a step back and smiled sexily as she reached toward the key fob in Willow's hand, clicking to unlock the doors and reaching for the handle. Just as her hand touched the metal she realized that Willow had snapped from her trance. She quickly opened the door and let Tara in before racing around the car. She quickly started the car and smiled slyly at the blonde as she pulled from the restaurant lot and drove toward Tara's apartment.

Notes – I would like to thank all the kittens who have enjoyed this and my other stories. I love writing and the feedback is wonderful. It is a joy and a privilege to get to write for readers who are so supportive. Thank you for all your support and encouragement.

As she drove, Willow kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding her soon-to- be lover's. She was filled with excitement and trepidation simultaneously. She'd been fantasizing about this moment, this night, for weeks. About it generally.

Making love with, to, a woman. And now not just any woman, someone she cared about. Someone she loved. Tara. She smiled as she repeated the name in her head.

"Yes, love?" Tara whispered as she lifted the redhead's hand to her lips and placed a gentle and somewhat teasing kiss on each knuckle. Willow felt thankful that she only had to drive the short distance to Tara's apartment.

Willow said a silent thank you that Tara couldn't see the blush on her face. "Should we go to your apartment?" she asked as she decided to make it seem that she had actually intended to start a conversation. At least doing so would make it less likely that she would drive into a tree, thinking about making love with Tara.

"We c-can go to your house if you want but we should leave Faith a note," Tara answered.

"Or call Buffy and tell her to tell Faith and we could go to my parent's house too," Willow added. "Oh now, this is getting silly. We can go to one of three places and either leave a note or make a phone call." Frustrated with the planning, she concluded: "Your apartment it is."

Willow drew in a deep breath as her pale skin again reddened in the darkness. She turned into the driveway and proceeded up its length before turning off the engine.

It took a moment for Tara to realize that Willow had turned off the car but was making no effort to leave it. In fact, she sat staring out the windshield at the peeling paint illuminated by the light on the side of the garage. Both her hands were wrapped around the steering wheel as if keeping her in place. The blonde considered asking what was wrong, what Willow was thinking, but decided to give the girl time.

"Oh baby," Tara purred, "you don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with." She thought about reaching out her hand but seeing the white-knuckled death grip the redhead had on the steering wheel, decided to give her time.

Tara couldn't help herself from laughing slightly. "I think stupid is about the last word I would ever use to describe you," she said.

"No, stupid is a good word," Willow argued, "perhaps only eclipsed by idiotic or very stupid or supremely completely stupid which I guess is actually three words." Now Tara did reach out her hand, gently caressing the redhead's arm. "I thought…I mean of course I thought…it's not like I haven't had opportunities. But I haven't. And I thought 'well yeah of course' because of how special and everything." Willow sighed as she continued staring at out the windshield. "But it was stupid," She repeated, "because I've never done this. I thought I'd wait to be completely in love but now what if I'm absolutely no good? What if I should have gotten some practice before now?"

Tara's heart swelled at the thought that Willow had been waiting and almost felt guilty that she couldn't give the redhead the same gift. "W-w-we can p-practice together," she attempted to assure the girl.

Willow slowly turned her head to look at the blonde. "You mean you've never either?" A smile crossed her face.

"Oh," Tara answered as she realized what Willow was thinking. "Um, no," she explained, "I um have but only a little and…"

Tara reached up to lightly touch the redhead's face. "You couldn't disappoint me, baby," she whispered.

"I should have read more," Willow stated as if filled with confidence that being more well read would have given her crazy skills.

"I don't think it's that kind of…," Tara trailed off as she suddenly looked like a kernel of thought had made its way through the maze of her mind. "Are you done waiting to be in love or are you practicing? I mean did you say you're in love with me?"

"Did-did I say that?" Willow asked as she furrowed her brow. "I mean well yeah. I mean I am in love with you. Totally. Completely. 126% in love with you. But um that wasn't the exact declaration I was planning."

Tara smiled as she continued stroking Willow's cheek with her fingertips. "If I didn't love hearing your voice so much," she gently kissed the girl, "I would have done this as soon as you said you loved me."

Immediately she moved her lips to Willow's and felt the redhead returning the kiss. As their lips moved slowly against each other, each girl took the chance to dart out her tongue and flick at the other's lips. Willow's hands left the steering wheel almost of their own accord and wound themselves in Tara's long hair. Tara's tongue again traced Willow's lips until the redhead opened her mouth to allow it to trace the tip of each tooth, to stroke against her own tongue.

Moments passed and became minutes and still the two witches sat in the front seat of the Jeep, their lips locked together, their breath becoming more and more shallow. Tara barely noticed Willow's hands moving until she felt the palms cupping her breasts through her shirt. She didn't break the kiss as the redhead nimbly unfastened the top two buttons on her blouse and brushed her fingertips along the edge of her bra. Willow broke the kiss to run her lips over Tara's jaw and to the side of her neck. Tara whimpered as the redhead's fingers wandered to the clasp between her round breasts and tentatively released them before brushing the skin nearer and nearer to her nipples. "M-m-maybe …inside?" The blonde wisely suggested.

Willow's foggy brain considered a number of double entendres before settling on reliable "Yes." Nonetheless neither girl pulled away as Willow's fingertips circled closer and closer to Tara's hardened peaks. Finally feeling the younger girl's thumbs brush her nipple, Tara pulled away. A sexy smile covered her face as she opened her door and quickly exited the car. Willow lunged momentarily into the space left by Tara's departure but she quickly recovered and joined the blonde outside the car.

The few steps to reach the front door took only a few seconds and Willow wrapped her arms around Tara's waist from behind as the blonde recited the incantation to release the protection spell on the house. "I'll have to teach you the spell," Tara whispered as she pushed the door open and stepped into the apartment. As Willow followed her into the apartment and closed the door Tara smiled flirtatiously, "Especially since I would like to see you here much more often."

"Here, the Summers house, my parent's," Willow answered, noting each location with a soft kiss on the blonde's throat, "I don't care where."

"Everywhere," Tara whispered as she turned quickly in the redhead's arms to once again face her. The flirtation in her answer was once again not lost on Willow who quickly resumed the kiss. Again moments turned to minutes turned to time standing in the living room, lips locked together, hands roaming each other's body. "My room," Tara finally managed to gasp as she began stepping backwards in what she hoped was a fairly direct line toward her bedroom door. A few awkward steps later, steps which looked more like some passionate and clumsy dance by linked partners, her back collided with the doorjamb. "Ouch," she hissed as the air was knocked out of her.

Willow pulled away to check that Tara was ok and quickly surmised that the blonde had just awkwardly contacted the doorframe. Deciding not to take any more chances, the redhead reached past her lover to open the door and step through, pulling Tara by the hand into her own bedroom. The moment they were inside, the two girls resumed their kiss while kicking the door closed. As their lips continued their exploration, Willow returned to the objects of her attention outside. She finished unbuttoning Tara's blouse and was not surprised as the blonde allowed the garment, along with her previously unclasped bra, to slide down her arms onto the floor.

Pulling away slightly, Willow appraised her lover's body. "Beautiful," she whispered as she raised her palms to gently cup the blonde's breasts.

Her giggle appeared to catch Tara by surprise and the blonde smiled too as she quirked her head to the side. "Something funny?" she asked as she began trailing light kisses along the redhead's neck.

"Anya…was.. right…," Willow said, closing her eyes to enjoy the feel and weight of Tara's breasts in her hands and the fluttery feeling spreading throughout her body from the contact of the girl's lips on her neck.

Not one to be deterred from her destination, Tara began slowly moving the two girls toward her bed even as she attempted to reason out Willow's segue. "What does …Oh God, right there Willow…Anya have to d-do…Oh God…"

Willow leaned forward to place her lips close to the blonde's ear without breaking the contact on her breasts. Gaining confidence she was now alternating gently passing her palms over the nipples and rubbing them between her fingertips. If the sounds and movements Tara was making were any indication, the other girl liked it. "She said you had beautiful breasts when you came into the store the first time," Willow whispered. "She was very right." With that declaration the redhead gently flicked the tip of her tongue against Tara's earlobe.

For only a moment Tara wondered how her breasts had come up in conversation but quickly disregarded the thought. "I'm sure you do too but I'm at a bit of a disadvantage," the blonde teased as she lowered her hands to the waistband of Willow's shirt. When Willow showed no hesitation, she gently lifted it over the girl's head. "Adorable," Tara declared as she saw the emerald green satin bra the girl wore. Gently she traced her fingertips along the edge of the soft material and then passed them over the hardened nipples, nipples which were pulling the fabric taut. Immediately she furrowed her brow and looked at the girl in confusion before again running her hand over the two nipples, finding one markedly more erect than the other. There was no mistaking the difference in response of the two nipples nor the outline of the ring within the bra. "Fun," she whispered as she continued to caress Willow's breasts for a few moments before reaching around to unfasten the clasp and allow the material to drop to the ground.

As soon as she did so, Tara returned her gaze to confirm her discovery. Willow blushed slightly as she took in Tara's appreciation of the silver ring piercing the center of her left nipple. "Um…," she started, "in college…one night…you know alcohol?"

Tara laughed outright at Willow's silly explanation. "But then you kept it?" she asked as she reached up to gently run her finger along the ring and stroke the hardened nipple.

Willow again blushed but more deeply this time. "Um …well…after the first day of, you know, extreme discomfort, I found it kind of, you know, sexy?" Her explanation seemed somewhat inhibited not only by her own embarrassment but by the fact that as she spoke, Tara continued running her fingertip over the nipple ring while teasingly performing the first step in a strip tease as she released the button on her jeans from it's fastener.

"Very sexy," Tara agreed as she bent her mouth to suddenly grasp the jewelry between her teeth and give it a tug. Hearing the sharp intake of breath from her lover, she ceased tugging and began to lave the hard nipple with broad strokes of her tongue. Willow's pleasure was apparent from the way her hands wound themselves in Tara's hair and began caressing the back of her head. Much as she was enjoying the unexpected toy, the blonde reluctantly switched her attentions to Willow's other nipple. That switch certainly carried its own pleasure as the nipple began to respond to her loving touch and kisses. Her fingers rose to play with the now lubricated silver ring.

Willow's moans were becoming more and more intense and her grip on the back of Tara's head more insistent. Fearing that she was hurting the blonde, she dropped her hands to the girl's hips and began stroking them slowly up and down her sides. After a few passes, she trailed her hands forward to find Tara's jeans already unbuttoned from her teasing movement earlier. A quick tug allowed the zipper to release and she slid her fingertips into the blonde's pants, tracing the edge of her panties.

After what seemed like a lifetime worshiping her lover's breasts, Tara reluctantly raised her mouth to once again find Willow's lips waiting for her – a treat that was definitely worth leaving the luscious but small breasts. The redhead's hands traced Tara's panties, edging deeper and deeper within until she whispered, "Can we take these off, love?"

Tara's flirtatious smile again returned as she offered a deal: "Only if we can move to the bed too." Her hands also moved to unbutton Willow's pants and she teased, "I know you've never made love but the bed is a traditional location."

Willow pushed Tara's jeans and panties midway down her legs before reaching to help the blonde with her own. "Well," she breathed, "I wouldn't want to be seen as untraditional." Rather than risk falling toward or missing the bed, both girls separated long enough to push their clothing completely off.

Tara was the first to look up, allowing her eyes to roam slowly over her lover's body in the dim light coming from the street light through her window. She appreciated every inch from the smooth whiteness of her stomach and breasts to the red moistened triangle between her legs. "You're so beautiful, Willow," she said as she cupped the redhead's cheek in her hand, "I can't believe that you're…mine."

Willow got a vixeny look on her face as she backed quickly to the bed and sat down. "You haven't taken me yet," she teased.

Tara smiled back as she approached the redhead, her gaze continuing to possess the girl ahead of her touch. "I'm planning on remedying that very soon," she whispered. The two steps to join Willow on the bed took only a second and then their lips were once again sliding wetly one over the other.

Their new position on the bed gave both girls increased freedom to touch and caress the other and they took advantage of that freedom. Hands stroked necks, breasts, backs, legs, feet, and every other part of their bodies they could reach. Both girls could feel their own wetness, could feel the other girl's when her leg or stomach brushed her center, could smell the aroma of their mixed scents.

"Yes, my love," the blonde answered, her hands continuing their journey over the girl's body.

"Touch me please," the redhead pleaded with such need, such tenderness that Tara couldn't possibly deny her. Gently she again kissed her love as her hand slowly and softly touched first Willow's leg, then her inner thigh, and finally brushed over her very wet curls.

Her touch was both arousing and soothing simultaneously, her fingers brushing gently along Willow's outer lips. Softly she slipped two fingers within the girl's outer lips to brush her center. "Do you touch yourself like this?" she asked.

A less aroused Willow would probably have been shocked or embarrassed by the question. But at this moment, her hands once again fondling Tara's breasts, the blonde's wet center pressed against her hip, fingertips tracing a path no others had ever taken, she simply answered: "Yes."

Willow dropped one hand from its motion at Tara's breast to meet Tara's fingers. As she did she replaced her fingers at the blonde's nipples with her mouth and began licking each nipple broadly, alternating between the two. Meanwhile, her fingertips touched Tara's and she felt the wetness coating both her own center and Tara's fingers from the exploration. Tentatively she guided Tara's fingertips to stroke within her outer lips, but avoided touching her clit.

"That's so nice, Willow," Tara whispered even as she reveled in the openness her lover was showing. She allowed the redhead to guide her fingers, softly stroking her center without hurrying the contact. Between the soft wetness of her lover and the attention Willow was paying to her breasts, Tara knew that she could climax if Willow touched her in return. But knowing that it was Willow's first time, she wanted to go as slowly as the girl needed or wanted.

Willow moaned passionately, her sounds muffled by the nipple in her mouth. Tara's caress was making her more excited than she ever knew was possible. "Have you touched yourself like this thinking of me?" the blonde asked and again Willow felt that temptation to be embarrassed. The movement of fingertips to her clit caused that temptation to evaporate instantly.

"Oh God…," Willow gasped, "yes, Tara…I …" She wrapped her hands around the back of the blonde's head and pulled her close for a deep kiss before answering the question. Each time that Tara touched her clit, she felt like she was on fire and each time the touch receded, she lifted her hips from the bed in a rocking motion to regain the contact. "Since I met…you…," she struggled to form words, "touching myself…imagining you…imagining touching you…you touching me…" She considered for a moment. "Filling myself and imagining it was you inside me."

Tara pulled back to smile at her lover as her fingertips moved to hover at the edge of Willow's opening. "I love you, Willow," she whispered and stroked the wetness. As Willow's hips rose from the bed, she had to raise her hand to avoid entering the girl prematurely.

"I don't …want to imagine any more…," Willow managed to gasp, "be inside me, Tara."

As their lips merged once again, Tara slowly and gently slid one finger into the redhead's small body. A whimper from the girl caused her to still her hand and break the kiss. "Is this ok?" she asked.

"More than ok," Willow answered, her body once again thrusting toward Tara's hand.

Tara allowed Willow to control the tempo and force of her thrusts, keeping her hand relaxed and letting the redhead move toward her. After a few thrusts, she felt Willow's center relax and she took the opportunity to slide a second finger alongside the first.

The redhead immediately allowed a slow moan to escape from her lips. Trusting Tara to touch her just right, Willow withdrew her own hand from her center and reached up to grasp the blonde's shoulders with both hands, her own wetness smearing across the girl's skin. As she felt Tara continue to thrust inside her, her thumb now rubbing her clit she pulled the girl even closer. Alternately she passionately kissed her lover and took her mouth away to gasp in pleasure. In the years of imagining, fantasizing this, nothing had prepared the young woman for the intensity of making love. This joining, this union was everything she could have…"I love you, Willow," Tara whispered gently and Willow's climax was upon her. The wave of pleasure radiated through every cell in her body, moving inward from her hands and feet and outward from her center simultaneously and seeming to explode everywhere that it met itself. She could feel her insides clenching and releasing, clenching and releasing around the blonde's fingers and could think no more.

Tara smiled lovingly as she stroked her lover after her climax. Her fingertips trailed gently over the girl's stomach, chest, neck, and face. Then she concentrated on the planes of Willow's face as if to memorize forever the sight and feel in her mind and heart.

"Yep, definitely gay," Willow murmured as she enjoyed the tender caress of her lover's hand.

Tara's laugh was full, throaty, and fully unexpected. "Did you doubt it?" she asked.

"Well, you know," Willow answered beginning to regain her composure and focus and realizing that she had a very beautiful and very wet woman in bed with her, "it was all just theory until now."

Suddenly Willow rolled over to hover above the blonde. "I have some other theories I'd like to try out too," she whispered as she returned her fingertips to Tara's nipples.

"Like?" Tara asked with a gasp as the redhead's lips and then teeth closed around her hardened nub.

"This," Willow whispered around the nipple. "This…," she continued as she began to trail her lips down the blonde's breast. "This," her tongue delved into and then out of Tara's belly button. "This," she breathed hotly onto blonde curls evoking a moan from the girl beneath her. "This," she said as quietly as she could and placed a reverent kiss onto Tara's moistened lips.

"I love you," Willow repeated before gently licking along the blonde's outer lips. Her smile quirked upward as she appreciated the rich and musky taste of her lover. A moment later she resumed her slow exploration, licking, sucking, kissing, Tara's center as the girl spread her legs even more widely. "God," she breathed around the blonde's hard clit, "you taste so wonderful." She noted how the vibration of her speech seemed to excite Tara even more, judging by her sounds and the grasping of her hands on the back of Willow's head. "Even better than I dreamed." She sucked Tara's clit into her mouth and slid a finger inside the girl, pleased as the blonde's body rose to meet her first thrust.

"I'm…I…coming…," Tara gasped, unable to believe how quickly she was coming.

In spite of her disbelief at the speed with which her lover was climaxing, Willow sucked her clit more deeply into her mouth and thrust harder and faster inside her channel. When Tara's muscles relaxed slightly she added a second finger and redoubled her efforts wondering if the girl could come again. Her answer was upon her as quickly as Tara's second climax. "That's it, baby," she crooned into the soaked blonde curls.

Finally both girls lay cuddled in bed, their forms wound together and fingertips idly tracing the other's skin in an intimate but not erotic dance. "If that was practice," Tara teased, "I'll be available any time you want to do that for real."

Willow smiled back. "I think we should practice much more," she whispered as she placed light kisses on the blonde's jawline.

Tara nodded her agreement. "I love you, Willow," she repeated before kissing the girl.

"You too, Tara," Willow agreed. She raised her eyebrow at Tara as the girl chuckled slightly.

"I knew school was a good thing," Tara announced. Willow giggled her agreement before lowering her head to rest on her lover's chest and falling into a shared sleep.

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School Days

by JustSkipIt

Copyright © 2004