Title: Beer Very Bad
Author: Golden Waffles
Rating: T. For occasional mentions of sex. Yes, in this chapter! Very much in this chapter!
Disclaimer: Of course I don't own the characters or settings of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Just the situations I put them in here.
A/N: I was kind of torn about how far I thought they should go at the end of this chapter. I did a lot of rewriting, deleting, and combining before I got to where it is now, which I'm somewhat satisfied with, although it is a little ambiguous. I may have mentioned before that I'm really no good at writing sexy scenes, and that probably is a factor in how slowly I'm letting their relationship progress. I also just kind of like writing slower relationships. Anyway, here's the chapter for your viewing pleasure.


Chapter 29:
Wet

Willow sucked in the cool night air, wiping dampness from her face that she assumed was sweat before realizing that a light drizzle was falling on them. Well, I did say we needed a cold shower, I guess. She felt weak and shaky, and paused for a few minutes to catch her breath, the rain slowly soaking into her clothes. Away from the heat and electricity, the memory of what they had just done sank in along with the rainwater, and Willow felt embarrassed by her actions. Finally, she returned her attention to Tara, who was in a similar state of recovery. Her hair and clothing were both a mess, and Willow was sure that hers were no better.

"Are you alright?" she asked. The blonde nodded shakily.

"I think so."

Willow offered her hand, and Tara wrapped it in her own. The electricity in the contact had reduced down to its normal level of tingly. She still wanted to kiss Tara, but not enough to mount her against a wall in a room full of other people. Just the regular amount.

Together, they began walking back towards Kresge Hall, treading slowly in spite of the falling rain. The silence between them was, for once, uncomfortable. Tara watched the ground, cheeks flushed. Willow kept trying to catch her eye, but she didn't know what to say. She kept thinking about what had just happened, and she couldn't justify her actions in her head. Not that kissing and touching Tara are bad things. Of course not. They're amazing and wonderful and incredible things. But that was hardly the time and the place for them. It was like I just couldn't stop myself…

"I'm sorry," Tara's voice murmured from beside her, breaking the silence and interrupting her troubled thoughts. Willow looked up, eyebrows raised.

"What?" she asked, her voice punctuated with an air of incredulity. What does Tara have to apologize for?

"I… I don't know why I acted like that. Or said some of those things. I'm sorry."

"Tara, no. It wasn't you. Or, it wasn't just you. I started it." She felt heat rise in her face, but now it was out of embarrassment, not desire. "I don't know what happened. It was like I couldn't stop. Like I was going to burn up."

"I know. Me, too," Tara said. Her eyes flitted up to Willow's face for a quick glance, but soon returned to the ground. "Um… you don't think it was some… Hellmouth thing?"

Willow mulled the idea over for several seconds.

"Like what? Some kind of lust demon?"

"Maybe." Tara blushed, watching the ground again. "I mean, there could have been a succubus there or something, right?"

Willow scratched her head, trying to think of her demon lore.

"I guess. I mean, anything's possible in good old Sunnydale. Or…" She shoved her free hand in her pocket and sighed, hating the other possibility. "Or maybe the punch was spiked."

Tara's foot paused mid-step, and Willow was pulled to a split-second halt before they continued through the wet grass.

"I don't think so…" Tara hedged, frowning. She didn't seem to like the idea any more than Willow did.

"There is some precedence with us and alcohol," the redhead reluctantly pointed out. Tara shook her head slowly.

"Maybe, but I feel fine now. And that w-wasn't how we acted when… well… that first night."

There was a heavy silence as they trudged side-by-side through the grass. Tara's head was still slightly bowed, and Willow wished she could do something to make her girlfriend feel better. Usually, she would kiss her, but that seemed like the exact wrong thing to do in this situation. It was a long minute before Tara broke the silence.

"The air there didn't feel right. Did you feel it?"

Willow nodded with a half-shrug.

"Yeah. But I think it was just the Initiative stuff."

Tara shook her head.

"I don't think so. I think there was something there. Not technology. Magic."

"Like a spell?" Willow was curious. It had felt pretty weird, but she hadn't identified it as magic weird. Then again, Tara saw auras and stuff, so she would know better. The blonde just shrugged.

"Maybe. I don't know for sure. It just… didn't feel right," she repeated, still frowning.

"I guess if there's something wrong, I'll hear from Buffy and Xander tomorrow." Willow suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Oh no. Xander."

Tara winced sympathetically.

"Yeah, that wasn't really how I had planned on meeting him," she admitted.

"He's probably going bonkers right now." Willow buried her face in her hands. That wasn't how that was supposed to go at all.

Tara wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing her gently, and she was able to breathe again.

"I'm sure he's fine. Just surprised. We can talk to him tomorrow," Tara murmured soothingly.

Willow almost suggested that they turn around and go back, but the the thought of reentering the house made her feel edgy and nervous. If there was some kind of spell or demon in the house, she didn't trust herself to be able to resist it. It was only luck that they had managed to escape in the first place.

"Okay," she acquiesced, leaning into Tara's embrace. Just having her girlfriend's warmth at her side was incredibly calming, although her body still thrummed at the contact, as though it remembered how far they had almost gotten. When the dorm building came into view, they both visibly relaxed.

"Home sweet home," quipped Willow, her head resting partly on Tara's shoulder. The blonde responded with a shy smile.

"You called it that before. 'Home,'" she pointed out. Willow realized that she was right.

"Yeah. I guess I did." She smiled. It was definitely more home-like than her parent's house, or her dorm room at Stevenson. "I guess I just feel safe there."

Tara leaned her head against Willow's affectionately.

"I'm glad," she whispered into her ear. Willow sighed, finally letting the night's embarrassment fall from her shoulders. She snaked an arm around Tara's back.

"You called it 'our room,' you know," she countered. Tara blinked at her with wide eyes.

"I did?" Her voice suggested that she had hoped Willow hadn't noticed.

"Yep."

"Well… it can be 'our room,' if you want. I-if it's okay with you," Tara said, with muted hope in her voice. Willow smiled reassuringly.

"It's more than okay." She liked the idea of it being their room, not just her room. She was a big fan of the plurals.

They slipped through the heavy double doors leading into Kresge and ascended the stairs home to their room. The thought of the new terminology was almost enough to bring a goofy grin to Willow's face, if not for the night's worries still gnawing at her. She thought she saw a corresponding phantom smile on Tara's face as they entered the room, but she turned her head to flip the light switch before she could be sure.

Willow crossed the room and sat heavily on the bed. She felt cold and exhausted and still kind of embarrassed. She had planned on dragging Tara home like a caveman and jumping her bones, but outside of the electric heat of Lowell House, she balked. Physically, she was still craving the contact, and she knew that trying to lie chastely beside Tara that night would be a special kind of torture. Emotionally, though, she was unsure. It had been such a weird night, and it was definitely going to be a weird day tomorrow. Maybe tonight just wasn't the night.

Tara padded across the room and settled near her on the bed, cross-legged, cool water dripping from her tangled hair onto the quilt. She looked a mess, but Willow still thought she was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. She just wished the night had gone more smoothly.

"Are you alright?" Tara asked quietly, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of red behind Willow's ear.

"I think so. Just kind of embarrassed." Willow shook her head, feeling the blush warm her cheeks. A gentle pressure covered her hand.

"Your hands are freezing," Tara murmured. Willow smirked. The hand covering her own was warmer, but just barely.

"Yours aren't much better."

Tara started to withdraw her hand, but Willow gently caught it in her own. She brought her free hand over and began rubbing Tara's fingers between her own to ease some of the chill from them.

"W-we should probably get into dry clothes. Maybe take a shower to warm up?" Tara's voice was oddly cautious. Willow gave her fingers an extra squeeze.

"Yeah. I guess so." She finally raised her eyes to Tara's. Their blue fire seared her and banished the cold more effectively than any shower ever could. She gulped. "Did you… D-Did you want to go first?" She heard herself unconsciously pick up her girlfriend's nervous stutter.

"Actually…" Tara paused, eyes still glowing dark blue. "I thought maybe… if you wanted… we could both…"

Willow stared at her for several long moments before she caught on to what she was suggesting. At he realization, her brain flew into emergency code-red overdrive, trying to think up some sort of smooth, seductive way to accept the offer.

"Showering together conserves water," she announced, wide-eyed, in a voice well over twice as loud and high-pitched as it needed to be. Tara blinked at her wordlessly for a long moment. As soon as the sound of her own voice registered in her head, Willow immediately doubled over, burying her face in her hands and groaning. Belatedly, she heard Tara burst into a fit of hysterics, which she didn't seem in any rush to stop. Another moan escaped Willow's lips. "I have the game of a middle-schooler," she mumbled dejectedly. She raised her head to look at her still-giggling girlfriend, who had collapsed back onto the bed and was now watching her with dancing eyes. "So, I'm guessing that offer is rescinded now?" the redhead asked wryly.

"Will…" Tara grinned indulgently at her, still stifling a few lingering giggles. "If your particular brand of quirky was some kind of turn-off for me, I don't think we would have gotten through our first night, let alone this far into a relationship."

Willow felt herself blush all the way to the roots of her hair, but the sentiment was somehow comforting.

"Well, I'm glad." She managed a smile herself, enjoying the way Tara's eyes crinkled when she laughed. "So then, about that hot shower you mentioned…"

Tara rose gracefully from the bed, offering Willow her hand.

"Come on, Casanova."

Willow had seen Tara naked before, but her heart still pounded as the soaked forest green shirt slipped from her shoulders, revealing the final expanse of smooth, bare skin. The sound of running water covered the sound of her ragged breathing, but she could still feel want on every inch of her skin. She wanted to feel her skin on Tara's skin, her lips on Tara's lips. And, if possible, her lips on Tara's skin and Tara's lips on her own skin. She shivered even as the steam poured over them from the shower stall.

"Ready?" Tara whispered. Willow nodded, starting to shrug out of her own clothes. She felt Tara's hands assist her in the process, which only made the feeling of want increase exponentially. Finally, the last article was divested, and Tara stepped into the shower stall, pulling Willow in with her.

Standing inches apart under the steaming water, Willow was almost overcome with the flood of emotions. She and Tara were naked in the same room for the first time since their first morning together. The morning when things almost went irrevocably wrong. The morning when Willow fled Tara's room wearing Tara's shirt, running away from the idea that she could have loved a girl.

Oh, how things change.

Her hands reached out and grazed Tara's sides reverently, tracing down from her breasts to her hips. The sensation of her girlfriend's warm skin under her fingers– skin that was usually covered by needlessly heavy clothing– struck her all the way to her core. In response, she felt Tara's fingertips press into her back, drawing her closer. Their lips met without thought, and when their bodies pressed together, Willow could no longer tell who had closed the distance.

After a long minute of kissing in their cocoon of water and steam, Tara pulled back slightly and moved to speak softly into Willow's ear.

"I don't think we're actually going to conserve any water," she whispered conspiratorially. Willow maintained her composure for about three seconds before she let herself laugh. After the imperious force of passion that had gripped them in Lowell House, they both needed a little lightness. Still chuckling, she leaned her forehead against Tara's. The normally clear blue eyes were dark with desire, but still sparkling happily, like a polished sapphire, or the surface of a lake at night. Willow smiled up into them, her own sense of want sparked as much by the smiling eyes as by the supple skin under her fingers.

"Hey," she greeted as their eyes connected and warmth flooded her stomach.

"Hey yourself," Tara greeted back. Her voice was low in a way that made Willow shiver. Willow brought their lips back together, trying to memorize the feeling.

Their touches were first tentative, but gained confidence with each success. Willow marveled at the way her heart leaped each time Tara's lips found her throat, and she relished the soft gasps Tara gave each time her hands found her breasts. Willow knew that if they had stayed at Lowell House, things would have progressed swiftly into a night of wild, unbridled passion. Pure physical lust. Wildfire. Not unpleasant, but maybe a little unwelcome given the time and place. Now, her desire felt more like hers. It was a slow burn, and a controlled burn. This wouldn't be the night they lost control in a frat house bathroom, but it would be the night they truly eased into this new facet of knowing each other. Tonight would be a night of exploration, not conquest. There would be time for unbridled passion later. Tonight, Willow just wanted to kiss her girl until the rest of the world fell away– vampires, demons, Initiatives, Xander's confusion, Buffy's absenteeism– and just left the two of them alone together in each other's arms.