Meet Me Under the Mistletoe
Willow Rosenberg and Tara Maclay smiled happily as they curled up together in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve with two glasses of eggnog. Christmas music was playing softly in the living room but the two women were so wrapped up in each other that they barely noticed. It was their sixth Christmas together and it was their absolute favorite holiday to spend together despite the fact that Willow was technically Jewish.
Tara allowed her head to rest on her wife's shoulder as she gazed up into the glistening emerald green eyes she had become so familiar with over the years.
"I love you, sweetie," she said softly.
Willow closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the scent of her wife before kissing the top of her head lightly.
"And I love you, angel," she replied. "I have something for you."
She swiftly pulled a small red box out of her pocket and held it in front of Tara's face.
"A present for me?" She asked in mock surprise, knowing that she and Willow always exchanged one gift each on Christmas Eve and left the rest for Christmas Day. It was a tradition they had upheld ever since their second Christmas together.
"You gonna open it?" Willow asked, anxious to see the look on her wife's face when she received the gift she had so carefully chosen.
Tara popped the box open, a smile slowly spreading across her face when she saw the gorgeous white gold locket sitting in the box. She reached out and lightly ran her fingertips over it. She allowed her index finger to trace over each letter etched on the front.
Of my love be sure.
"Willow, it's beautiful," she whispered, flipping the locket open.
Her heart melted instantly when she saw a photo of the two of them standing together underneath the mistletoe at a holiday party eight years ago when they first met. That was the night that had changed her entire life.
They looked like the perfect couple even in the first few moments they had known each other. Willow was wearing a festive dark green dress and Tara was wearing an even more festive sparkly red dress. Their arms were wrapped around each other and they were both grinning from ear to ear. Their smiles weren't the fake ones that people usually pasted on for photo ops either. Anyone could tell that both women had been genuinely happy at the moment the photo had been taken.
"Do you remember that night?" Willow asked, smiling to herself as the memories flashed through her mind.
"Of course I do. How could I ever forget the night I met the love of my life?"
The two women snuggled back up as they began to reminisce about that party so long ago.
Tara sat all by herself on the couch, surrounded by a sea of other college students that were dancing to Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Her friends had dragged her to this Christmas party against her will claiming that she needed to get out and have some fun. She wasn't exactly the party going type, but since her friends had been so adamant about her joining them she put on her cute sparkly red holiday dress and allowed herself to be strung along with the rest of the group. However, upon arriving at the party all of her friends had left her to her own devices meaning she took on her usual role as the wallflower.
Across the room Willow was having a good time with her tight-knit group of friends, but when she looked over at the couch she took notice of the blonde wallflower. Although the girl seemed to be a loner Willow felt like there was something special about her. No matter how much fun she was having out on the dance floor with her friends, her eyes were drawn right back to the same blonde over on that couch in between each and every song.
She tried to make eye contact with the girl every time a song ended, but she didn't end up succeeding until about five songs in. When her emerald green eyes met the sapphire blue eyes across the room, she gave the blonde a quick wink, which caused the shy girl to blush a bright red and giggle like a schoolgirl.
Willow bit down gently on her lip satisfied with the effect she seemed to be having on the mystery girl. She was pretty sure that the blushing and giggling were both good signs. She continued to dance with her friends but it became a sort of game for her and the blonde to make eye contact at the end of each song. Each time they flirted in some way, butterflies fluttering around in both of their stomachs.
"Buffy, do you see that girl over there?" Willow asked when she and her friends took a break from dancing to get drinks. "The blonde. She's incredible."
Buffy casually glanced over, catching a glimpse of the girl.
"Yeah, she's a cutie. You two would look good together. What's her name?"
Willow hesitated.
"Well… uh, I don't know," she admitted. "We haven't actually spoken, but all night we've practically been having eye sex across the room."
"You don't even know her name?" Buffy exclaimed, unable to wrap her mind around the fact that Willow was falling for some girl that she hadn't even exchanged words with yet. "Well, let's see what we can do to fix that."
Buffy was tired of seeing her friend unhappy. Willow would never admit to being lonely, but Buffy knew she wanted someone to share her life with. The perky girl made her rounds, talking to all the different cliques of people at the party asking if they knew the cute blonde over on the couch. Finally she reached a rather large group of girls, all dancing, drinking, and having a jolly old time. They informed her that the blonde was one of their good friends even if she was a wallflower.
"Could you tell me her name?" Buffy inquired. "A friend of mine is interested in getting to know her."
"Tara. Tara Maclay," one of the girls informed her. "But good luck. Tara's not an easy girl to get with. She likes to keep to herself."
"Her name's Tara," Buffy told Willow when she returned. "Tara Maclay. Now what are you going to do with that information, Will?"
Willow's face brightened when she suddenly got an idea. She wanted to be as romantic as possible to try and woo this girl. She wasn't sure if things would pan out the way she wanted but if it was meant to be then it would happen, right?
"I need you to do me a favor, Buff."
Buffy sighed. "Haven't I already done you enough favors?" She asked, in a teasing tone.
Both girls knew that Buffy would do anything for Willow. She would go to hell and back for her best friend if that's what was required of her.
"Buffy, please. This is important to me."
"Okay, okay. Just tell me what you need and consider it done."
Ten minutes later Buffy was sent over to the mysterious blonde, equipped with a yummy looking pink cocktail and a note.
"This is from the redhead over there," she said with a friendly smile before retreating to her group of friends and resuming her dancing.
Tara set the drink down on the table in front of her as she opened up the note, which had her name neatly written on the front.
How did she figure out my name? She wondered curiously.
A smile played across her lips as she read the note.
The drink is called an Angel's Delight. I thought it was fitting someone as angelic as you. Meet me by the mistletoe at 12?
-Willow
"Willow. What a pretty name," she murmured to herself, looking across the room at the redhead for what felt like the 100th time that evening.
She took a sip of her drink and contemplated whether or not she wanted to meet up with Willow later on or not. She did want to, but she didn't know if it was the best decision. She didn't want it to end up being a one-night stand or anything that usually goes on at college parties. She was looking for something real, a relationship, not a hook-up.
Tara's best friend Maria who had been looking for her for a few minutes finally spotted her and took a seat next to her on the couch.
"Oooh, you're drinking? You never drink at these things, Tara. What's going on?" She asked with a knowing look in her eye.
She was the one who had given Tara's name out so she had an idea of where the drink had come from but she wasn't positive.
"It's from that redhead over there," she said as she nodded in Willow's general direction.
"She's adorable! What are you waiting for? Why aren't you dancing with her?" Maria asked.
"Well, she wants me to meet her under the mistletoe at 12, but I don't know if it's a good idea…"
"I think it's a great idea if my opinion counts for anything," Maria told her. "It's been so long since I've seen you genuinely happy, Tare. I can see that you're at least attracted to the girl by the way your face lights up when you sneak looks at her. Give it a shot. See what happens."
Meanwhile Willow was across the room practically having an anxiety attack as she wondered whether or not Tara was going to meet her or not. They hadn't even officially met yet. She wanted the chance to actually have a conversation with the girl of her dreams.
"Stop worrying, Will. If it's meant to be then it'll happen. Relax," Buffy told her.
"I know that, but it doesn't change the fact that I want it to happen whether it's meant to be or not. She's…wonderful. Just look at her," she sighed as she stole yet another glance at her crush.
"Well you still have 15 minutes 'til 12 so I suggest, for the sake of your health, that you stop freaking out."
Willow only grew more and more anxious as the minutes ticked by. She was standing underneath the mistletoe by 11:55 just in case Tara got there a little bit early. When the clock hit 12:01 and Tara still wasn't standing next to her, Willow's heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. She wasn't coming.
"Looking for me?" An unfamiliar voice asked as soft hands covered her eyes in an attempt to surprise her. "Guess who."
Willow grinned, a feeling of relief washing over her when she realized it had to be Tara.
"With a voice that sexy it has to be Tara," she said, spinning around so that she was face to face with the gorgeous blonde she had been admiring all night long.
"Hi," she said, suddenly shy.
"Hi," Tara replied, giving the redhead her signature half smile. She looked up for a moment before meeting Willow's eyes again. "We're under the mistletoe. You know what that means right?"
Willow simply nodded before closing the gap between the two of them. Her lips met Tara's luscious lips in a sweet and tender kiss. In that moment both girls knew that this was meant to be. It felt right. It felt perfect.
After a few moments Tara pulled back from the kiss and rested her forehead against Willow's.
"It's nice to officially meet you," the redhead whispered, sighing happily. "Kissing you was everything I could have imagined and more. It was magic."
Tara couldn't help but to blush and duck her head, feeling slightly embarrassed. She couldn't help it. She always got like that when she felt as though she was the center of attention.
Willow gently lifted her chin so she was able to see that beautiful face again and she softly kissed her forehead.
"Don't hide your face, angel. Don't ever hide that gorgeous face," she said softly, stroking her cheek.
Tara leaned in for another kiss and allowed herself to get lost in it as she wrapped her arms around Willow's neck. At that moment there was not a single doubt in her mind that she belonged in the arms of this incredible woman. Meeting her under the mistletoe was quite possibly the best decision of her life.
"Smile, girls!" Buffy said, whipping her camera out after she had given them their moment.
She had been observing from a quiet corner the entire time, smiling as the picture perfect scene played out in front of her. She couldn't have been happier to see that her friend had successfully won the blonde over. Not to mention the fact that this photo would make an excellent Christmas gift for her best friend.
"Why do you have that silly smile on your face?" Tara asked lovingly, kissing her wife's cheek.
"I always have a silly smile on my face when I'm thinking about you. Side effect of being in love," she responded. "Where would I be without you?"
Tara smiled and snuggled closer to her wife.
"The better question is where would I be without you? I can't even imagine that."
Tara allowed her thumb to lightly graze over the photo in the locket once before she closed it.
"Put it on me?" She asked, handing the locket over to Willow and standing up.
The redhead stood up and walked behind her wife, fastening the necklace securely before leaving a trail of kisses down Tara's neck.
Tara spun around with a devilish grin.
"What do you think you're doing Ms. Rosenberg?" She questioned playfully.
"Just kissing my wife. Is that allowed?" She asked, leaning in for another kiss before Tara had even responded.
Tara leaned in, closed her eyes, and allowed herself to get lost in the kiss until she heard her favorite Christmas song, All I Want for Christmas is You, start to play. She immediately pulled back, her blue eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Let's dance, baby," she said, wrapping her arms around Willow's waist as they slowly began swaying to the music.
The two women spun and twirled around the room together, completely absorbed in one another just like they were at that party several years ago. By the end of the song they ended up under the archway between the living room and the kitchen where mistletoe was hanging.
Tara looked up and grinned.
"We're under the mistletoe. You know what that means, right?" She asked.
Willow quickly leaned in and latched her lips onto the blonde's. She slowly ran her tongue along Tara's bottom lip until she was granted access to the tongue she was so familiar with. As soon as their tongues met, they tangled together passionately warranting a satisfied moan from Tara.
The redhead broke the kiss and held her wife close.
"Merry Christmas, baby," she whispered softly before closing the gap between their lips once again.