Tara visibly recoiled and snatched her hand away, backing up off the bed.
"You what?!"
"Baby, I-"
"No, no, 'cause we've only been with each other, we've only been with each other so you either lied to me or you cheated."
Willow stood and tried to walk over but Tara backed away.
"Baby, you were the first woman I was ever with, I swear."
"So what, there was a guy? Is that it? I could've handled it, Willow, I didn't need to be your first, I loved that I was, but it wasn't essential, I just wanted to be with you, why would you lie about that? And then saying you never had an orgasm before, was that a lie too? Who lies about that?"
Willow hung her head as her girlfriend continued to speak, everything was coming out all wrong and she had no idea how to rectify it, so decided to try and get her attention.
"Tara!"
The brunette calmed slightly at the loud tone, but kept her distance.
"You were my first ever and I hadn't felt the things you made me feel before either, physical or emotional. You were a revelation in my life, okay?"
Tara seemed to accept this before realising what the other option was. She sank down onto the bed and tried to control the tears.
"So you cheated?" she asked, her voice small.
"I would never in a million years ever do that," Willow replied, her voice thick with emotion, "I'm yours and no one else's."
Tara shut her eyes and took a deep breath.
"You didn't sleep with anyone else?"
"Never."
"And I was your first?"
"My only."
She opened her eyes and saw her girlfriend's sincere look, so she patted the bed beside her to indicate it was okay for Willow to sit next to her. The redhead eagerly sat beside her and took a deep breath.
"First off, I am so sorry about how I went about this, making you feel so bad and thinking I was cheating or something, it never even crossed my mind that that's how it might look. I was just so embarrassed, ya know? And the doctor told me to stay away from any sexual activities for four weeks, some internet sites said certain stuff was okay, but the doctor said everything so I didn't wanna risk it and I didn't want to start something and then pull away and you'd be even more confused, so that's why I haven't been trying to start things and why I've been avoiding your advances. But you have to know that I've wanted them more than anything."
Tara nodded, but still looked confused.
"I still don't get how you got it. Or why you didn't tell me, I mean, I need to be tested too."
"Oh, um, it's kinda not that like that…" Willow shook her head.
"Uh…" Tara started, staring at the redhead, looking completely worn out from the emotional rollercoaster this conversation had been.
"Remember Valentine's Day?"
"Of course," Tara smiled, despite the confusion still lingering; it was one of the last times they'd made love before all of this had happened, "Pretty memorable."
Willow smiled too, and continued her explanation.
"So you know how we had all the fun with the cream and chocolate and everything?"
Tara nodded.
"So apparently the, um, sugar, you know, when you, well, we put the cream in my, uh, the um, bacteria and-" Willow was blushing furiously at this stage but was cut off as Tara grabbed her cheeks and brought her in for a deep kiss, before kissing all over the redhead's face frantically.
"Oh…you…beautiful…sweet…girl," she said between kisses, before pulling back and gazing into green eyes, adopting a tender tone, "You got a yeast infection?"
Willow averted her gaze and blushed even more, but managed a nod.
"Oh, honey, that happens. And it's not a STD," Tara replied with a slight chuckle, the relief overwhelming her completely.
"But it's like, an infection…that I got from having sex…so it kinda is…and I read online that some doctors consider it an STD, they're not sure, and-"
Tara put a finger on the redhead's lips to silence her babble.
"I love you so much," she said, moving her hand to cup her girlfriend's cheek, "But don't ever keep things from me again. If you can't trust me with this kinda stuff, who can you?"
"I know. I'm sorry," Willow replied, chastised.
"If you'd just told me when you'd found out, we could've avoided all of this. I thought we were breaking up."
Willow looked horrified and shook her head repeatedly.
"No, no, I won't let that happen. Ever. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'll tell you everything from now on, no matter how embarrassing, I'll tell you everything and I won't keep secrets or try to hide and oh god, I lied to you, told you I had tests when I didn't, I'm so sorry and I'm the worst girlfriend, I promise I'll make it up to you, I promise, in fact…hey, in fact, I'm gonna start right now!"
The redhead lunged at her girlfriend, pining her to the bed and started to kiss around her neck and collarbone, her hands starting to work their way under her tank top.
"Willow," Tara tried to get out, but swiftly getting lost in the most attention she'd had in three weeks, "Oh sweetie, right there…oh no, honey, honey, we still can't remember, just another week, right? And it's fine 'cause everything's out in the open now so we can still cuddle without you worrying."
Willow raised her head, a glint in her eye.
"My…area's out of action, but my fingers and tongue are a-okay, I can still make love to you. I can't believe I didn't realise this before, I'm so sorry I made you go without for three weeks, when I coulda been showing you how much I love you. I'm just so sorry for everything."
Tara cupped both her girlfriend's cheeks so she'd know Willow heard what she was saying.
"I agree you went about this completely wrong. And I'm not gonna say I'm not hurt that you didn't tell me, but I get you were embarrassed and things just piled on from there. So first things first, you're forgiven, okay?"
"Really?"
"Yes. But on the proviso that we talk to each other from now on. No matter how self-conscious we feel. Especially if that something is gonna affect the both of us."
Willow nodded.
"Full and complete disclosure, I promise. I just panicked, and well…you know me better than anyone, you know what that means."
Tara stroked the redhead's hair lovingly and got a fond smile on her face.
"That beautiful head starts swarming with thoughts and you get overwhelmed and have no idea what to do with yourself."
Willow blushed and nodded once again and Tara smiled a small smile.
"Okay. So now I need to apologise. I should have known better than to mess with the delicate bacteria down there. We were just discussing balance and stuff last month in one of my classes. So I'm so sorry for the part I played in this."
"You didn't-"
Tara gave her a look that said she wasn't to be argued with and Willow smiled at her.
"Forgiven."
"Thank you. And now," Tara continued, turning them both on their sides, "Thank you for wanting to make love to me. You can't believe how relieved that makes me after the past few weeks. But I wanna make love together. So we can wait until you're all healthy."
Willow looked sheepish, and nodded, leaning over for a quick kiss.
"I can't believe you thought I didn't want you. Have you never looked in the mirror?"
Tara blushed at the compliment before swallowing audibly.
"I'm also sorry for thinking you may have cheated on me," she whispered, "I know you never would."
"I'm sorry that I made it seem like it would be that and I'm sorry-"
She was stopped as Tara put a finger on her lips, giving her a loving smile.
"You know what? No more apologies. From either of us. Past tense, okay? Now we move on and focus on getting you better and making up on the cuddle time we lost. I think we're perfectly capable of cuddling and kissing without needing to go further."
"You're the most amazing woman in the world," Willow breathed, "I'm gonna snuggle you so hard you're gonna have to fight for breath. And when I'm good to go again, you're gonna feel how much I want and need and love you."
"Looking forward to it," Tara whispered, then smirked, "Now, c'mere. You've been all chaste-girl with the kisses too. I haven't felt your tongue in like two weeks."
Willow looked apologetic but shook herself out of it, remembering what the brunette had said and cupped the back of her girlfriend's head, bringing their lips together in the most loving, passionate kiss they'd had in a while. Tara tilted her head into pillow slightly, opening her mouth even more in an attempt to get closer as their tongues caressed each other.
The taller girl cupped one of Willow's cheeks as she felt the kiss intensify, not in movement, but in emotionality, three weeks of confusion, insecurity and frustration slowly melting away as they reaffirmed their love and devotion to each other in the most simplest of intimate acts.
Willow reluctantly pulled away when she felt the need for oxygen become almost insufferable, but quickly went back for a series of short, sweet kisses, her girlfriend's lips pulling her to them, like a magnet, the deep contact having been sorely missed.
"Love you," Tara breathed into the redhead's lips as they finally fully pulled back, albeit only an inch, to try and get air.
Willow looked into the glassy eyes of her girlfriend and smiled lazily.
"I love you too. And I promise you, no matter what, I'm never going that long without doing that again."