Best Birthday

by SithLordWiccan

Copyright © 2006

decepticons_4_ever@hotmail.com

Rating: R
Disclaimer: "Buffy" characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse: /mysticmuse.net
Through the Looking-glass
Feedback: Oh, pretty please. I live and die by the feedback I get.
Spoilers: None.
Pairing: Willow/Tara

It was one of the most difficult decisions Tara had to make, and she knew that she had to make it soon. She had been searching for weeks, trying to find the right thing to adequately express how much she loved her Willow. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't find anything. And now she was running out of time. Willow's birthday was today, and Tara didn't want to think about how upset she would be if her lover didn't get her anything.

As she walked into the house that she and Willow shared, Tara felt an immense weight pressing against her. This was something to which she wasn't accustomed. Growing up, her birthdays were nothing special. If anything, they only served to increase the loneliness that she felt the rest of the year. It especially got worse after her mother died, when her father and brother would go out of their way to ignore her during that day. It made her feel like she didn't exist.

That was mostly the reason why she felt so pressured to do something nice for Willow. If she could make her beloved feel special, it would help to soften the negative feelings she associated with birthdays.

Moving off to the master bedroom, Tara collapsed onto the bed, burying her face in the pillows and letting out a frustrated groan. Decisions like these were not meant to be this difficult. And Willow would be home from work soon. It gave her a limited amount of time to think of a present.

Turning over onto her back, Tara looked up into the ceiling of the room, running off the list of gifts that she could give Willow. "Chocolates?" She shook her head. "No. Too cliché. Jewelry?" She shook her head again. "No. I can't afford anything like that. And even if I could, I don't want Willow to think she needs expensive gifts to look good."

Tara rattled off several other suggestions in her mind. Dinner out wasn't really an option, as Willow would be too tired from work. And she didn't want to make dinner, either. Her culinary skills were rather…stunted. Her father and Donny had always commented that the food she made was worse than pig slop. She couldn't even make macaroni and cheese, let alone a dinner worthy of her Goddess.

Tara glanced at the clock. It was 3:30. Willow would be home in an hour and a half. She groaned and buried her face in the pillows again, realizing that, no matter what she did, it was too late to get Willow anything that was good enough to show how much her love for Willow was boundless and could adequately express that love in some form.

That love…some form…

Tara sniffled as she turned around. It seemed so obvious now. Why didn't she think of it before? A plan began to form in her mind as she reached for the telephone and punched in a number. She had the perfect present, and hoped she would have enough time to get it prepared.

"Tara, baby? I'm home."

Willow stepped inside the house, closing the door behind her. Putting her purse down on the stairs, she noticed something. She picked up the small reddish object and ran it across her fingers.

"A rose petal?" she wondered, looking up and noticing a trail of petals leading up the staircase. Curious, she followed the trail into the kitchen, where she noticed a piece of paper lying on the counter.

Willow,

You have no idea how difficult it's been for me the past few days. I wanted to do something special for your birthday. Something that was unique. Something that I felt was just for you. But I couldn't figure out what to do.

I know you, Willow. You would have said that, no matter what I got you, you would enjoy it because it came from me. That's very sweet, but I wanted to do something for you that I knew you would enjoy. Something created just for you that only I could give.

It took a lot of work at the last minute, but I finally found something that's for you and you alone. It's in our bedroom. I hope you enjoy it.

Yours, forever and always,

Tara.

Willow felt her heart rise from her chest. She certainly hadn't expected Tara to go so completely out of her way today. It was her birthday, but it wasn't like she wanted to make a big deal out of it. She certainly didn't want Tara to feel pressured to do something for her. Simply being with Tara was the best gift that Willow could have received. It didn't matter if she never got a single present again from her family or friends. As long as she had Tara, every day felt like her birthday.

Willow curiously wondered what Tara had gotten her. Well, there was only one way to find out. She left the kitchen and made her way down to the bedroom. Arriving several moments later, she found another piece of paper taped to the door. The paper was decorated with glitter and streamers, and had drawings of party hats, stars and smiley faces. All of this centered around three words written in large, colorful felt pen:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILLOW"

Willow smiled and reached for the door knob, turning it slowly. Whatever was on the other side, she wanted to enjoy the surprise as much as possible. As a child, she didn't like either suspense or surprise. But something about this moment made her prejudices simply disappear as if she had never had them. When it came to Tara, every moment like that was one to be savored.

But as Willow became aware of what awaited her inside the room, she realized that there was nothing in the world that could prepare her for this.

The lighting in the room was dim, making the details of the room almost impossible to pick out. This was a task made even more difficult by the fact that the room was covered in a mist that made Willow pause. Did Tara set the room on fire? What kind of surprise would that be?

Then Willow's eyes made their way to the bed. And her jaw dropped nearly to the floor at the sight that greeted her. The bed was covered with rose petals, which was enough of a surprise for her. But that was nothing compared to what else was displayed on the bed.

Tara. Her Tara. Naked.

Willow found her eyes tracing up Tara's bare legs, their firm tone the result of the many hours her beloved spent at the gym. Willow had always appreciated how much Tara took care of her body. After all, anything that made her beloved's body that more ravishing to look at was certainly a plus in her book. Tara's taut stomach ignited a Pavlovian response in her, causing Willow to break out in a drool fest as her eyes focused on the creaminess of Tara's belly, upon which her head had spent many a night.

It took all the strength Willow could muster to pull her gaze from that stomach and continue her analysis of her girlfriend's current state. She fought to stifle a laugh as she looked at Tara's breasts. The nicely proportioned flesh orbs were topped by dark red wrapping bows placed on her nipples, giving them the appearance of wrapped gifts.

Well, they certainly were gifts. To Willow, anyway.

Looking into Tara's face, Willow smiled.

"Good birthday?" Tara asked.

Willow moved onto the bed and oriented her body onto Tara's, gently removing each bow from the blonde's breasts. After taking a moment to take both of her girlfriend's erect nipples into her mouth, she delivered a deep, passionate kiss to Tara's lips.

Seconds stretched into minutes. Minutes stretched into hours. And oxygen soon became an issue for both women. Reluctantly breaking the kiss, Willow stared deeply into the dark blue of Tara's eyes, finding them smoldering with the passion and love that was hers to give mixed with a sense of pleasure that she had given her love a gift that would be loved for many years to come.

"Best birthday," she breathed in reply.

The End

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