Xander's Rooftop, a few hours later.
Althanea offered to take Willow and Tara back home after their date was finished. The both of them were finished with one part of their date after having some homecooked food and wine. Once they were done with the eating and drinking, the two girls continued to talk to each other. Eventually, it was time to go, with Althanea having made the offer at nearly midnight. Willow and Tara looked at each other in surprise, the both of them were unaware that so much time had gone by; and Willow couldn't help but give a small smile as she looked away from Tara, who told Xander that she was sorry they were having their date for that long of a time.
"I thought that maybe an hour went by," said Tara sheepishly.
"Same here," Willow said before looking around the roof-top and then back at Xander and Althanea, "where's Buffy?"
"She didn't want to bother you," said Althanea as she held Willow's hand, "she went home with Faith. The both of them should be patrolling now."
"Oh, ok," Willow said nodding her head. She wanted to go and patrol as well, but the former redhead had enjoyed the date with Tara. And to her own surprise, Willow didn't want it to end. As she glanced at Tara, Willow wondered if the witch had a power to make others become calm when close to her- she wondered if Tara had a gift to actually make people want to be with her. However, Willow shook her head before thinking to herself that those theories sounded ridiculous.
"I… I don't mind taking Tara home on foot, Althanea," Willow found herself saying, much to her own surprise. As to the surprise of Tara. The blonde witch glanced at Willow who said, "if I remember my dating etiquette correctly, one of us should see the other off at home. So, I can walk with Tara back to the dorm and then fly home from there… and go on a patrol."
"You sure?" asked Althanea raising an eyebrow at Willow.
"Yea," Willow replied while Tara looked over at the former redhead. The blonde wanted to reach out and hold Willow's hand, but instead she kept her arms by her side. She then glanced over at Xander, who winked at her. Tara smiled, her face turning red, before she and the others walked out of the roof access door while Xander cleaned up the plates.. leaving the table on the roof for the next morning when he would take it away. After saying their goodbyes to Xander, Willow and Tara took the elevator down to the ground floor, and then walked to Althanea's car. Althanea entered her car after asking Willow and Tara once again if they were sure about walking back to the dorms.
"Willow can protect me," chuckled Tara as Willow smiled while placing a hand on her bare shoulder. Willow then nodded her head before saying that they were going to be alright. Althanea then nodded her head in return before she then drove off. Once she was on her way, Willow and Tara started walking towards the apartment complex exit under the clear and warm night. The both of them were very aware that walking back to the dorm would take nearly thirty minutes.
The both of them walked in silence; one waiting for the other to say something.
"I… I liked the time we spent together," Tara said, breaking the ice once again. Willow looked back at Tara as their shoes hit the ground. The former redhead gave a small smile before nodding her head. She then looked forward while Tara inched slightly closer until their arms brushed each other while they were swinging along their bodies. Tara then, after the initial brush, glanced over at Willow who was glancing back at her. Tara knew that Willow wasn't sure about the both them. And she didn't want to push.
But Tara knew she liked Willow. Tara knew that she was attracted to Willow. Very attracted to Willow.
As they walked together out of the exit and onto the pedestrian walkway, Tara decided to risk go out of her comfort zone and make her first physical 'move'. The blonde witch knew that it would be out of character for her, but she wanted to know if there was any part of Willow that felt as she did. One part of her believed that the date was simply Willow's way of making her feel better about herself; Tara thought that Willow was simply trying to not embarrass her by saying 'no', so instead she said 'yes'. There was only one way to be sure if she had any chance with the former redhead.
Inching closer to her, Tara then reached out and brushed against Willow's hand with her own. Their arms continued swinging by their sides as Tara brushed her ham against Willow's hand once again. The blonde witch glanced at Willow, she hoped for a reaction of disgust or acceptance. But Tara got neither, at least from her physically. But Tara could see from Willow's aura that she was feeling nervous.
So Tara stopped brushing Willow's hand. She put her arms closer to her side and inched away while trying to keep the fact that her heart was breaking from showing on her face. If anything, else, Tara glanced down at herself and mentally noted that she was glad she took this particular risk. Tara then took a few deep breaths as they continued walking until, all of a sudden, Willow stopped. Once Willow stopped, Tara stopped as well, and turned to look at Willow who took a deep breath. The both of them stared at each other for a few seconds, at least until Willow broke the silence.
"Would… I mean… I don't know if this is… what I'm trying to say is that I'm not sure if I'm doing this right," Willow said as she took a step forward while Tara tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at the former redhead, "we had this great dinner tonight and I don't know how to top this. I…."
"Will?"
Willow remembered her conversation with Cordelia earlier that day, focusing on their conversation while the both of them were trying out dresses. Cordelia asked her if there was anything else Willow was afraid off other than having a relationship with another woman; something she never expected. As Willow looked at Tara, who was waiting for an answer, the former redhead thought back to the answer she gave Cordelia, "one thing is the scars. The other things is… I mean…"
"Do you want to be in a relationship again?" asked Cordelia.
"I don't know," Willow replied as she looked at her reflection in the mirror while she was holding up a dress. She looked at her scared body before looking away, "I… I'm afraid of what would happen if the date goes really well and… and we start something. What happens if we start dating and… and…"
"You mean what if you;;re happy?" asked Cordelia who was in the changing room right next to Willow.
"I…."
"Do you want to be happy?" asked Cordelia.
"Yea, I do," Willow said as she looked over her shoulder at the wall, behind which Cordelia was putting on her dress.
"Then why are we even having this conversation," Cordelia said as she looked at herself in the mirror.
And that was what Willow was thinking as she looked at herself in the mirror. She wanted to be happy. After nearly a thousand years of torture, she wanted to be happy. And then Willow realized that she hadn't been happy since returning to the land of the living. She hadn't been having a feeling in her heart that would warm her entire body. She remembered having that feeling when she used to hang out with Oz, Buffy, Xander, and Giles. But she wasn't feeling it now.
At least not until her date with Tara. Actually, the more Willow thought about it as she looked at the mirror, she had that feeling whenever she was around Tara.
"This date was… how can I top this if I want to go on another date?" asked Willow as she looked at Tara back at the present moment.
"So," said a hopeful Tara, "there's a second date?"
"I haven't been… wait, you know how there's a warmth you feel when you're happy?" asked Willow as Tara looked on while the former redhead who hovered her hands over her own body, "I haven't felt that since coming back. Well… I mean… I have felt that. I felt that when I'm around you and…"
"We could go for coffee tomorrow?" asked Tara as she sensed Willow may not have been as freaked out as she thought. "I mean we were planning for that last night and… and I mean… I mean we've already seen each other all dressed up and everything so we know what to look forward to when we have a date like this or…"
"Another date like this?" asked Willow with an eyebrow raised as she thought about the date the just had on the roof of Xander's building.
"I mean… you know… in a proper restaurant." stammered Tara when Willow started to chuckle before saying that she looked great.
"I don't know if I said that," Willow said as she looked at Tara's face, "but… Tara, this is all new to me. I…. I just want to take it slow."
"I understand," said Tara as she took a step closer to the former redhead, "so… ummm… you wanna get back to the dorms?"
"Yea," Willow said as she took a step closer to Tara before the blonde witch nodded her head. The both of them then headed towards the building in the distance. It would be forty minutes later that Willow walked Tara to her room in Stevenson hall. The two of them stood outside Tara's door, the blonde thanking Willow while they were standing in the hallway.
"You.. you wanna come in for a little while?" asked Tara as she reached into the purse she was holding and took out her room key, "I… I mean to… wait, sorry. You said you wanted to take it slow and.. and I didn't mean to rush you and…"
"It's alright," chuckled Willow.
Tara gave a smile before she took a step forward and asked if Willow would be alright with a hug. The former redhead nodded her head before the both of them hugged each other. Willow's hands were on Tara's back while her chin rested on Tara's bare shoulders. She took in the scent of the perfume Tara was wearing while the aforementioned witch held on tight to Willow and rested her chin on the former redhead's shoulder. Tara closed her eyes and took in the scent of Willow's perfume for a few more seconds before the both of them pulled back. The both of them looked into each others eyes for just a second before Willow stepped back.
"I… I should get going, Tara," said Willow, "I.. I want to patrol a bit before going to bed and…"
"I… I'm going to study for a little bit," Tara said before she looked at her door, and then back at Willow. She wanted Willow to stay. She wanted to scream at Willow to stay. But all that came out of Tara's lips were, "so… so I'll see you tomorrow for coffee?"
"Yea," Willow nodded her head as she took a few steps back before she wished the blonde goodnight. Tara waved her hand before watching Willow walk away. She then opened her door, walked into her room, and leaned her back against the door after closing it once again. Taking a deep breath, Tara then told herself she had more than enough time to enjoy Willow's company.
'At least until my demon self takes over and Buffy and Faith have to kill me,' thought Tara to herself before she walked towards her washroom.
The Rosenberg Residence, Willow's Room, two months later; 2100 hours.
After that first date involving the rooftop dinner, came the coffee date the next day. Following that, there were several other dates between both Willow and Tara… with each date making the other certain that they were made for each other. The coffee dates were soon accompanied by the both of them going out with each other to dinners at the Summers house, or to movies, or more coffee, dinners, and even to Kingmans Bluff where they watched a meteor shower.
It was two months later that Tara knocked on Willow's door. The former redhead had invited her and the other Scoobies to her home for a pizza party with Willow telling them it was a surprise. Tara looked around after knocking the door and noticed that there were no other cars in the driveway before turning back to Willow, who was in a simple turtle neck long sleeved T-shirt and jeans. Willow then smiled at Tara before stepping aside to let her into the house. After closing the door once Tara was in the foyer, Willow said that the others were coming an hour later.
"An hour later?" asked Tara as she looked at her wristwatch, and then back at Willow with confusion on her face, "you asked me to come by an hour earlier?"
"You didn't tell Buffy you were coming now, right?" asked Willow as she led Tara to the living room.
"I haven't seen her or Faith the whole day, and we live in the same dorm," Tara replied as she looked on at Willow with questions swimming in her mind, "Will? Everything alright?"
"Well, I'm glad that…." Willow stopped talking a she looked at the look of curiosity on Tara's face. She clasped her hands together before sighing, and then admitting that she hadn't ordered anything yet, "actually I was about to order and… well… okay… you know what? I may not have thought this whole thing through."
"Will?" asked Tara as she took a step forward and held Willow's hand, "what's going on? I mean, we are having dinner tonight, right?"
"Yeah, of course, and…." Willow stopped talking before she pulled back her hand from Tara's gentle grip and waved her hands around, turned to the side, leaned down at the coffee table, and picked up an envelope. She handed the envelope to the confused Tara who held it in her hand before taking out the letter inside. Reading the letter, Tara smiled before she looked up at Willow.
"You got admitted to U.C. Sunnydale?" said Tara before she put the envelope down on the table. She then rushed forward and hugged Willow tight while whispering into her ear, "congratulations. Your parents would have been proud."
"I hope so," whispered Willow as she held on tight to Tara while mentally preparing herself for what she wanted to do next.
"But I still don't get why you wanted me to come here an hour early," Tara whispered. Willow then smiled while her chin rested on Tara's shoulder before whispering.
"Because I want to make sure I know what I'm doing," Willow said before she breathed in Tara's scent, and then positioned her head so that she could kiss the blonde's neck. Willow felt Tara get tense as she lay one kiss, and then another, on Tara's neck. It wasn't long before one of Tara's hands travelled down Willow's side and the other hand up to the back of her head. Willow paused before whispering in Tara's ear again, "I saw video's so I'm not sure about…"
Tara pulled away slightly, and then looked into her eyes with a playful gleam, while running her hand through Willow's hair before pulling her in and kissing her on the lips. The both of them held each other tight as they kissed vigorously for the next few minutes before Tara pulled back once again. They rested their forehead's together while looking into each other's eyes and breathing hard, their hearts racing as Willow's hand rested on Tara's hips while Tara herself was playing with Willow's hair.
"What videos have you been watching?" breathed Tara as Willow closed her eyes and released a chuckle. The former redhead looked at Tara once again when she said, "and you said this is your first time kissing a girl."
"It is," Willow breathed as they stared at each other in the lit living room.
"Did you like it?" smirked Tara.
"Yes," Willow replied before the both of them kissed once again. While they were kissing, Tara pulled Willow's entire body closer as she slowly kissed down to the nape of her neck. The former redhead was enjoying the sensations going through her body when she felt Tara pulling the turtleneck down. Willow snapped open her eyes just as Tara's tongue gently brushed over one of her scars before she pulled back away from the blonde. Willow took a few steps back while pulling up her turtleneck as she looked away from Tara.
In return, the confused witch saw the distress on Willow's face while she was rooted to the spot. Here she had been kissing Willow on the lips, and she wanted to do more. So, she hooked her finger into the turtleneck, and slightly pulled it down while kissing the exposed skin. The last thing she remembered was running her tongue over a scar when Willow pulled back.
'Oh goddess,' Tara thought to herself as Willow took another step back before nervously looking around, 'her scars, I… I may have gone too far and…' Tara then shook her head and stepped forward while saying, "I'm sorry, Willow. I didn't mean to push you and…"
"No it.. it was me," Willow replied shaking her head as she walked around the couch, keeping it between herself and Tara. "I… I should have told you that I… I 'm still not ready to… you know. Show myself to you, or to anyone."
"That's fine," Tara reassured Willow while remembering their trip to Paris where Willow never changed in front of her because of the scars. And that led to Tara wanting to kick herself. Walking around the couch while Willow had holding onto the soft back, Tara reached out for and held Willow's hand, "that's fine." Tara then placed her other hand on Willow's cheek before a smile formed on her face, a reassuring smile, "Willow, I… I want to be with you. And I'll wait until you're ready. We'll take it slow but… but I want you to know that I want you. I want you, scars and all."
"Tara…" Willow said as she looked down at the floor, and then back up after taking a deep breath to steady herself as she remembered each and every scar on her body, as well as the brand on her chest and on her shoulder, "I have a lot of scars. I… I do and I'm still deciding on whether to use a glamour spell even if it's for personal use and…"
"I want you, Willow," Tara said as she leaned in slightly, "I want you. I want the scars you have on you. I want all of you… I want nothing hidden away."
"Give me time?" asked Willow. Tara then nodded her head before leaning in and brushing her lips against Willow's, "maybe you could kiss me, and then we make the order?"
"Or we could order, and then kiss," whispered Tara as she placed one kiss after another on Willow's lips before slightly parting as they whispered, "gives us more uninterrupted time to kiss. That sound good?"
"Great," breathed Willow before she picked up the phone, and then made the order. Once she was done, Willow walked over to Tara who took the former redhead in her arms. And them the bot of them passionately kissed each other.
TBC.