((Terribly sorry that it took me so long to get an update here... and no, I don't plan on ending this at New Moon Rising. Not even close ;) ))

Tara couldn't believe how much things had changed since she came to Sunnydale.

Here she was, sitting under a tree in a park on a sunny day, sketching for her class. But that was something she had done all the time at home. What was so different about it was what she was drawing.

The laughing face of a young woman with skin even paler than hers, green eyes that lit up even when it was dark, and silky red hair that flowed so effortlessly through her fingers... it wasn't perfect, but it wasn't the actual woman.

Willow was perfect.

Willow's heart sped up a little when she saw a very familiar woman sitting with her back against a tree, pencil speeding over the large white pad on her lap. She stopped where she was, maybe twenty yards away, and just looked at her. She hadn't had the chance to just watch Tara for over a month, and she was realizing that she missed that.

"Heya Wil!" Xander called, waving with the arm that wasn't slung around Anya's shoulders. Apparently the little tiff that they had had the previous week had blown over.

Too bad, Willow thought as she smiled in reply. "Hey Xander," she said, resettling her backpack on her shoulders. "What're you guys up to?"

"Not much, just heading over to, ah... I meant..." Xander turned slightly pink as he searched for the right words, causing Willow's smile to grow.

"We were going to have sex," Anya chipped in. "What are you doing?"

"Uhhh..." Willow stammered for a reply, stumped as always by Anya's very blunt way of saying things. She waved her hand over in the direction of the tree Tara was sitting against. "Tara. I was, I was going to, uh, hang out with Tara."

"Looked to me like you were just standing there," Xander said quickly, glad that attention was no longer being called to what he and Anya had been on their way to do. "Why don't you head on over. And don't forget, she's coming to our next meeting!" With that, he reslung his arm over Anya's shoulder, pointed his finger at her like a gun, and turned away.

When Willow turned she saw that Tara had spotted her and was waving her over, that familiar half-smile setting off butterflies in her stomach. "It looks like you were enjoying yourself," Tara said once Willow reached her, smiling up at her for a moment before she returned her attention to the sketchpad on her lap.

"Oh yeah, you know me and Anya," Willow said, plopping down on her stomach. "All happy with the buddy-buddy bonding..." When Tara snickered she continued, "Really, how can anyone be like that? Sure she's an ex-demon and like, a thousand years old, but can't she be more, well, normal?"

"Willow, nothing about these people is normal," Tara said absently, reaching over with her left hand to play with a lock of Willow's hair. "N-not in a bad way, but you know, you go ar-round slaying demons and chatting with v-vampires. Not your everyday college student activity."

"Point," Willow conceeded, propping herself up on her elbows to try peering at whatever it was Tara was drawing. "Whatcha working on?" She reached out, intending on pulling the pad away, and was surprised when Tara shut it with surprising speed.

"Nope," Tara said, her hands holding the sketchpad firmly. "That's a surprise, and you'd ruin it if you saw."

Willow pouted at her, lower lip trembling adoringly and was surprised yet again when Tara resisted. "Awww, come on, Tara," she pleaded, tugging at the blonde's shirtsleeve. "Just one little peek? I'll even close one eye, so that it's a smaller than normal peek."

But still Tara resisted, though a smile was beginning to tug at the corner of her mouth again. So Willow persisted, finally deciding that physical force would be necessary in order to get what she wanted.

"No tickling!" Tara shrieked when Willow's hands found their way to the blonde's sensitive sides, tickling her mercilessly. The sketchpad slid several feet away on the grass, but it was forgotten as Willow sat on Tara's legs to keep her from standing, ducking her flying hands as she continued her attack.

Soon enough Tara managed to slip her hands past Willow's to counter the tickling. "Oh no, none of that!" Willow declared, taking Tara's wrists in her own and pinning them onto the ground, her nose almost brushing Tara's as she forced the blonde onto her back, still giggling. "I declare myself queen of the tickling!"

"So am I your prisoner?" Tara asked, arching an eyebrow. She was still laughing, a little breathless from all of it.

"Yes, you are my prisoner." Willow touched her nose against Tara's, rubbing lightly. "Eskimo..." her voice trailed off when she saw the look in Tara's deep blue eyes, the mood suddenly changing from playful to electric.

"I-I've been that since I first tou-uched your hand," Tara whispered, no longer straining to break free of Willow's hold. "You never needed to h-hold me..."

Willow swallowed hard, a lump suddenly taking up residence in her throat, making it impossible for her to say anything. How lucky am I? she thought suddenly, looking down into Tara's face and seeing something there that was more intense and so different than anything she had ever seen in Oz's that it scared her even as it exhilirated her. "Tara..." she managed to say, even as she leaned down to brush her lips against Tara's, her eyes closed to keep her hidden from that look that threatened to burn her up on the spot.

But even that look wasn't as intense as feeling the softness of Tara's lips, the rough warmth of her tongue as it played over her lips, begging the entrance that Willow granted without hesitation. Nor could it burn as fiercely, leave as dark a mark, as the velvety heat of Tara's mouth when Willow finally built up the courage to twine her tongue around and then past Tara's. She wasn't sure how much longer she could last with this kiss without burning up, but it was such a wonderful feeling that she didn't want it to stop...

At last, when Willow was starting to think that maybe she would lose herself to the exquisite agony, Tara pulled away, her gentle hands cupping Willow's face. There was such a longing in her eyes that it jolted Willow, causing her to be struck suddenly with the knowledge of why this kiss had touched her so deeply. Her entire body was practically screaming for the touch of those gentle hands, she wanted to see blue fire dancing in those eyes and, more than anything else, she wanted to watch as waves of ectasy danced across Tara's body and face.

"Tara, I - Buffy!" Willow yelped in surprise when she saw a familiar pair of shoes approaching. She scrambled to her feet instantly, face going scarlet as she brushed at her clothes to get bits of grass off of it. How long had Buffy been standing there? How much had she seen? I'm not ready for this! Willow thought frantically, trying to come up with a reason for why she had been laying on top of Tara, looking at her like she had been. I'm not ready to tell all of them about me and Tara, about what I think that I am... I haven't thought it out, come up with the reasons, put words to what I feel for her, for how different it is from Oz, how different she is... how wonderful she is.

"Hey Wil, Tara," Buffy said cheerfully, flipping her hair back over her shoulder. "I didn't expect to see you guys here. What're you up to?"

"We're just hanging out," Willow said quickly, "you know, talking, watching people go by, trying to decide what to wear to our next slaying party with the spirts of repressed children walking around or making our friends have non stop sex-"

Buffy cut her off with a laugh, echoed by Tara. "You're babbling," Tara said fondly. "W-we were just sit-ting, Buffy. Taking a break."

"Well I'm just passing by, so I'll catch you guys later. Wil, try to tone it down on the caffeine before it puts you right up through the roof." Buffy gave a little wave before walking off.

"I don't think she saw us," Willow gushed, relieved. "I mean, you don't think she did, do you? Because I don't, she would have talked different or stood different or said something. You think she would've said something if she'd seen us kissing, don't you? I'm not sure-"

"You're babbling again," Tara said, placing her hand on Willow's knee. That contact somehow calmed Willow more than anything. "She didn't s-see us."

Something in Tara's voice, and the way she wouldn't look right at her, told Willow that something was wrong. "Tara?" she said, reaching out to touch the blonde's hand lightly. "Is something wrong? Did I say something?"

"W-will you ever tell them?" Tara asked quietly. "Will there ev-ver be anything to t-tell?"

"Yes," Willow said firmly. "I mean, I'm not ready now, obviously, but I will be. I'm going to think of how best to say it, who to say it too first, all of that. I just, uh, don't know how or when yet." Tara still wasn't looking at her, so she placed her fingers under the blonde's chin and lifted until she was looking into those pretty blue eyes. "There will be something to tell, Tara. You... I..." She sighed, frustrated that she couldn't find the words to express how wonderful Tara made her feel. "You make me feel special, and there's more, but the words won't come out of my mouth like they are in my head, you know?"

Tara smiled then, a full, beautiful smile that always made Willow feel like she had turned to melting wax. She tugged at Willow's arm until she was sitting down again, resting her head on her chest with a tiny sigh of contentment. "I know," was all she said, and all that she needed to.

They sat there together, content to not say a word, until the sun went down.