Tara stretched out on the pile of cushions on the floor, dim candle light making her bare skin glow. Her dusky nipples stood straight out as she watched her lover bend over a tiny metal bowl balanced on top of three tea lights. They'd bought the tiny cauldron for burning incense in, or mixing up spells… but this was so much more fun.

Willow uncorked a vial of orange oil and dribbled it liberally into the cauldron before adding another tab of chocolate fondue. Both of them had been so sick recently with horrid head colds and were finally starting to feel better. Willow had decided it was time to treat them to the yummy chocolaty goodness they'd bought at a sex shop during their weekend in L.A.; Tara was not of a mind to argue.

Neither one of them could smell anything but the orange oil was fortified with vitamin C so it wasn't a totally futile gesture. Willow pushed the melting puck of fondue around with a small wooden spoon, mixing the oil in carefully. She was so intent on her task she didn't notice her girlfriend's intense look.

Tara smiled and gazed with love filled eyes on her titan flame? Aamber? haired lover. Candle light flickered and danced giving Willow's hair the hue of burnished gold and her skin a honeyed blush. She saw her partner put the spoon in a plate and dip the soft bristled brush into the chocolate concoction. Tara smirked impishly and threw her arms over her head, bent her leg at the knee and gave her a wanton look.

Willow's heated gaze mirrored Tara's as she crawled up her body to trace patterns and swirls on the soft skin with the chocolate, dribbling it occasionally, tickling the brush along ticklish curves making her lover jump and giggle but she stayed away from the girlie bits. Sugar down there would just make this a night they'd regret. Finally Willow was finished her masterpiece and sat back to look at Tara's decorated body.

"You look good enough to eat…"

Tara laughed low in her throat and arched her back wantonly, her hips lifting and lowering gently. "Come on then," rich tinkling laugher spilled from her lips, "eat me up baby." She let out a delighted squeal when Willow dove forward with her mouth open, her tongue impatiently peeking out.

Tara moaned, feeling her lovers tongue scoop up the chocolate spread from her already sensitive skin, she gasped in a soft breath and let her eyes drop closed… so it was even more of a surprise when Willow suddenly got up and ran to the waste basket, retching.

"Baby?? Are you alright? What's wrong? Oh god, you're still sick, aren't you? We didn't have to do this if you weren't feeling well, oh baby, I'm so sorry!" She'd rushed over to hold her lovers hair from her face and handed her a box of facial tissue. Willow furiously rubbed her face clean and got a few more pieces of tissue which she used to vigorously scrub her tongue.

"It's the oil! It's rancid! Or the chocolaty goodness the box promised was a lie! Who lies about chocolate? Oh goddess that was awful, oh wow can we just throw the whole thing out and pretend this never happened? Please?" Willow clung to Tara, hiding her face in her hair, feeling mortified at the turn of events.

"Oh sweetheart, it's okay, really, it's okay! We'll take a look at the rest of those tabs after we can smell again. I got that oil years ago anyways, it's okay, I'm sorry, it'll be okay. What can I do to make it up to you baby?" She brushed Willow's hair from her face and wiped away the faint traces of tears under her eyes.

"Can we just get some hot chocolate instead?"

"Instead of sex? Of course! I-if you don't want to we don't have to." She tried to hide her disappointment. It had been so long since they'd last had a moment to themselves, she'd been looking forward to this all day, all week really. Willow's trip out to the middle of no where that had taken over a week of travel just to pick up some special ingredients for a protection spell for the house so they lost a lot of together time. They lived with Dawn anyways so they had to be quiet and less adventuresome but she'd volunteered to go out for a night with Janice as soon as Willow got back, and then they got sick and couldn't even kiss because breathing was too hard so they had to postpone for another week, and now i this /i ... Life was not fair!

"No silly, instead of the chocolate dip." She stroked her fingers through Tara's honey coloured hair, pushing it out of her eyes. "We can get the powdered stuff and make our own chocolate finger paint! You can't get rid of me that easily. I've missed you…" Willow was so close to tears. She really did miss the closeness they used to share when they lived without an impressionable teenager they didn't want to… well… impress things on of the naughty!girls!touching! nature.

"I've missed you too…" Tara gave Willow a tight hug, smearing her with the rancid chocolaty goop, but not caring. It felt good to hold her, it always did..

"So since I got you covered in that junk… only fair that I have to gettake it off you, right?" Willow smirked and ran her finger from Tara's collar bone and down the center of her chest before running along the underside of one breast. Her thumb slid up to caress and tease her nipple. Tara's breath caught.

"Y-yeah… only fair."

Willow giggled and led Tara to the shower after putting out the candles. Turns out washing off rancid chocolate was way more fun then than putting it on, and really not that bad a complimentary prize.