Much later, Buffy stumbled into her dorm room. She was utterly exhausted, and she wasn't alone: Tara was asleep on the bed, with books strewn around her, all opened. Taking care to not lose Tara's place in any of them, Buffy carefully placed them all on Willow's vacant bed before kissing the witch's forehead tenderly.

Like a fairy tale princess, Tara's eyes slowly opened after the kiss. And when she realized who had woken her up, Tara pointed to her lips.

Buffy straddled her girlfriend and dutifully kissed her full on the lips. At first a teasing, innocent peck, it quickly became deeper as that familiar, almost primal, desire swelled up inside her. Sleep could wait; Tara couldn't.

After coming up for air, Tara gazed at Buffy lustily as she took in deep breaths. She was also tired, but Tara wanted it, too. It wasn't about the sex…Well, it wasn't entirely about the sex, she thought, but that was an undeniable part of what she and Buffy had. The connection they had was almost overpowering-Tara could feel herself changing, becoming different, and if she was being perfectly honest with herself, she liked it. A lot. Tara was becoming bolder, stronger, and just a little bit more impulsive. She had initially thought that this was just Buffy rubbing off on her, but now with their relationship having become an actual relationship, and a very intimate one at that, Tara knew that it was different, as if they were both tapping into a live current.

Tara's thoughts were interrupted with a firm poke to her chest by Buffy, who mouthed, "Hey!" with an annoyed expression on her face. "Less thinking, more smoochies!"

"But I was thinking about how much I love you," mouthed Tara in response. In order drive the point home, Tara pointed at her head, then herself, held her hand to her heart, and then pointed at Buffy.

Buffy said something, or made some sort of noise, but without the benefit of sound, it made absolutely no sense to Tara. All she knew was that she had a very happy Slayer on her hands. And a distracted one, which allowed Tara to turn the tables on Buffy and straddle her for a change.

It would have worked, too, if the bed they were on was queen-sized. Instead, the two women landed with a thud on the floor to the right of Buffy's bed. Tara was on top of Buffy now, though, so it wasn't a total loss.

"OW!" mouthed Buffy in what was clearly intended to be an annoyed shout.

"Oops," mouthed Tara sarcastically in response.

Buffy stuck out her tongue in response. (Tara was fairly certain that she was on the receiving end of a raspberry.) "Help me up?" mimed the Slayer with a questioning glance.

Tara shook her head no, and was richly rewarded with some hardcore Buffy pouting.

It was way too much fun teasing Buffy.

After a good minute or so of enjoying herself, Tara eased off and helped Buffy up….only to pounce again and pin her to the bed.

"Stop. TEASING!" mouthed Buffy. It looked more like a moan than a complaint to Tara, and her suspicion was confirmed when Buffy used her Slayer strength to grab her girlfriend's left hand and show her just how excited she was. This was a grave error on Buffy's part, and soon Tara had her moaning even more vigorously. (Tara was certain that if they had their voices, Buffy's would have been heard across the entire UC Sunnydale campus.) However, before Buffy got her much-requested release, Tara pulled her arm back and started licking her fingers while wearing the smuggest of grins.

Buffy, now beyond frustrated, mouthed out her desire to Tara in no uncertain terms.

"You kiss your Mom with that mouth?" mimed Tara, enjoying every last instant of her soundless reply.

"NOW!" pleaded Buffy.

Tara evaded the request by kissing Buffy long and hard before taking off her shirt and then her bra in quick succession. With Buffy now topless, Tara pushed her down flat on her back and was awed all over again by her girlfriend. Before Buffy, Tara had preferred girls who looked a bit more like herself.

Curvy.

Soft.

But now?

Simply put, Tara considered Buffy to be the physical embodiment of a goddess.

Tara barely knew where to start. Could it be those expressive, soulful green eyes? Or that unbelievably cute nose? How about her incredibly kissable lips and that winning smile that made Tara feel lightheaded every time she saw it directed at her? And then there was her neck, which constantly vexed Tara with its inability to keep a hickey for more than an hour or two because of Buffy's Slayer healing.

Unable to simply admire any longer, Tara dove for Buffy's neck, and again embarked on the futile quest to mark her lover. Buffy, already desperate for her release, was bucking wildly within moments.

Granted, this may have had something to do with how Tara was making use of her right hand as opposed to her mouth, but that was beside the point.

After leaving yet another sadly temporary mark on Buffy's neck, Tara turned her attentions to Buffy's arms. Despite being incredibly strong, her arms weren't overly muscular, to Tara's surprise. Sure, she wasn't expecting Hulk arms from the Slayer, but shouldn't Buffy have at least an exposed vein or something? But no, even her hands were smooth perfection.

Buffy shuddered and bit her lower lip as Tara lightly traced her fingers along those toned arms, knowing full well that she was taking her teasing to agonizing new heights.

For God's sake, just fuck me already!

Tara froze for a moment as she swore she heard Buffy's voice. But to look at her, she was still moaning soundlessly.

Shaking it off as a figment of her imagination, Tara turned her attention to Buffy's chest. Obviously, preferring curvier girls meant that Tara was also in favor of someone a bit more…..prominent than her girlfriend. But Buffy, with her tiny and athletic frame, was exquisite just the way she was. And besides, Buffy was far more sensitive than most of the other girls she had been with. In fact, Buffy was too close for Tara to properly show her appreciation, so with a tiny sigh, she instead moved to Buffy's stomach, which was wonderfully fit and kissable, but there was a danger: Buffy had an incredibly ticklish belly button.

That's right, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a human Pillsbury Doughboy. Or girl. Or whatever.

But Tara knew what she was doing, and was able to avoid ruining the mood while she fumbled about with Buffy's pants and underwear (she wasn't perfect, after all, and Buffy had complicated matters by not wearing sweatpants). With all of that behind her, and Buffy now quite naked (and extremely aroused), Tara considered continuing her laborious worship of her girlfriend's body…..

Oh, screw this, thought the witch before skipping ahead, much to the delight of Buffy, who got exactly what she had been pleading for for the past five minutes.

Tara smiled happily as she climbed on top of Buffy once more while the Slayer caught her breath. "Was that worth the wait?"

Buffy could only smile weakly at Tara's mimed reply, and the almost wicked smirk on her face. The past couple of weeks had completely changed her expectations of what sex was supposed to feel like, but this…..Buffy could barely comprehend how any of what had just transpired was even possible. Finally, she managed to mouth some semblance of a reply: "How…how did you…..?"

"Magic," mouthed Tara slyly.

"I love magic," mouthed Buffy in return, before grabbing Tara's collar and pulling her down for a smoldering hot kiss. This, of course, left Tara completely preoccupied, and soon the witch was lying down face up with her head at the foot of the bed and straddled by her girlfriend. With a conspiratorial grin on her face, Buffy mouthed, "My turn."

Tara's last coherent thought of the night was a prayer of thanks to her goddess.

Eventually, the town of Sunnydale once again fell asleep. At close to 2 AM, the Gentlemen emerged from the clock tower, floating slightly above the ground and accompanied by their Footmen. In contrast to the prim and proper Gentlemen, the Footmen flailed about, their heads mostly covered with bandages and wearing strait jackets that were unrestrained. The Gentlemen split off in three groups, with two Gentlemen and two Footmen to a group.

Soon, they would strike.

Not everyone was asleep this evening, though in Anya's case, it was not by choice. While Giles slept peacefully, having fallen asleep after a rather eventful and pleasurable round of lovemaking, rest was evading the former Vengeance Demon. Anya knew why, too: she was increasingly haunted by dreams? visions? memories? of Rupert, broken and stressed-out, shattering her power center, and dooming her to life as a human. Anya had already made far too many compromises to her principles because of these blasted human emotions (emotions patterned after those of Cordelia Chase, no less) that had drawn her to Xander, and the thought that she may be falling in love with the man responsible for her present condition was horrifying.

But not quite as horrifying as the part of her that not only didn't care that the former Watcher might be the reason she was human, but was actually happy.

With that disturbing thought, Anya got out of bed, slipped on Giles' bathrobe, and headed downstairs. She started towards the kitchen (because that's where Rupert kept the good scotch, in surprising quantity), but stopped after hearing something outside. Going to the nearest window, Anya pulled back the curtain, and she glared at what looked like something…..floating? towards the apartment, when suddenly, it floated by.

Bald, pale, thin, and smiling unnaturally, the thing caused Anya to leap backwards in surprise. After catching her breath, Anya cursed herself for recoiling (Stupid emotions!) as she did before heading back upstairs with a determined look on her face.

Sleep could wait; she and Rupert had work to do.

The other Gentlemen were more successful at avoiding attention, and two of them eventually reached Stevenson Hall on the UC Sunnydale campus-on the same floor as Buffy and Willow's dorm room. The two Gentlemen floated by each door, shaking their heads and waving off each door they passed by.

In her room, Buffy writhed in her sleep as the Gentlemen passed by. However, Tara instinctively tightened her embrace of the Slayer, which was enough to stop Buffy's squirming. After a contented mumble, Buffy fell back into a peaceful slumber, blissfully ignorant of the horror outside.

Soon, the Gentlemen found what they were looking for, and knocked three times on the door to one of the dorm rooms, rousing its occupant, who opened the door with a confused look on his face.

Confusion turned to terror as the boy saw his guests. But before he could do anything, the Footmen grabbed him and dragged the unsuspecting teen back onto his bed. There, the boy was restrained as he tried, fruitlessly, to scream for help. After closing the door to his room, the Gentlemen floated over to their victim, grinning sinisterly as one pulled a scalpel from his doctor's bag and handed it over gleefully to his partner.

The boy died screaming.

No one heard him.

Tara and Buffy began their day much as the previous one had ended: by making out. As opposed to the furious, passionate pace they usually set, this was slow, tender, and punctuated by numerous shared smiles.

It was yet another thing that made Buffy feel more content and grateful than she had in years.

The moment was shattered when Buffy heard footsteps outside. The number and nervous energy surrounding them tipped her off immediately: the Slayer was needed. With a nod, Buffy stood up and swiftly put on some clothes and headed for the door. She was joined by Tara, whose determined expression held a clear message: she would always be by Buffy's side. Buffy smiled warmly at her girlfriend as she squeezed Tara's hand in acknowledgement of her support, and her cheeks flushed red ever-so-slightly as she opened the door.

The hallway was more like a wake than a college dorm. Students were openly sobbing, comforting each other, and generally looking as if someone had died. Most conspicuous of all was the crowd of people surrounding one of the rooms. Like a moth to a flame, Buffy was drawn to the room, and brushed past the assembled, horrified crowd. The boy was on his bed, his face frozen with terror, and his heart…..missing.

A few moments later, Buffy exited the dead boy's room with a determined look on her face. Tara recognized it immediately, and knew what it meant: someone, or something, was going to pay, and dearly.

A/N: Buffy and Tara have promised that this will be the last time they're naughty, but I don't believe them for an instant, and neither should you.