Willow loaded some fruit in with the other foodstuff she had prepared into the picnic basket she had set out and placed a blanket on top before quietly walking back into the bedroom and sitting on the side of the bed that Tara was still sleeping in. She smiled and leaned down to place a series of short, soft kisses all over her face.
"Wake up, sleeping beauty."
Tara shook her head slightly in her sleep and cuddled into the pillow.
"Wakey, wakey, baby."
Tara mumbled something incoherent and the redhead leaned down again to try and make sense of it. Most of whatever was said was lost in mumbles but Willow did make out the word 'cuddle' and settled herself alongside her fiancée and pulled her to her. Tara snuggled into the crook of the smaller girl's neck and her breathing evened out again, falling back into her slumber.
Willow rolled her eyes and grabbed a small rabbit plush toy from the side of the bed, shaking it on top of the blonde's face.
"Mr. Hoppy says wake up!"
Tara spluttered at the taste of fur in her mouth and batted the rabbit – a toy she'd had since she was a baby, given to her by her mother – away.
"Alright, alright, I'm awake," she grumbled, still refusing to open her eyes, "Can we just stay in bed for the day?"
"I've already called the gang," Willow replied, "And made food for us all. Picnic in the park remember? To tell them our news?"
Tara's eyes flew open and she brought her hand up to her face, smiling as she admired her ring. She then took Willow's hand and kissed the band on her finger.
"What time are we meeting them?"
"Eleven," Willow answered, "We're doing a brunch kinda thing. I was packed some food and paper plates and stuff. Oh, and a blanket, of course."
"My beautiful girl. Always thinks of everything," Tara replied, stretching her limbs, then got a seductive look in her eye, "Wanna fool around before we go?"
"Yes," Willow grinned, "But we don't have time."
Tara pulled the redhead on top of her, their faces centimetres apart.
"We have a few minutes."
Ten minutes later, their tongues were duelling ardently and Tara had managed to undo the redhead's bra, her hands fondling the firm flesh under her shirt, causing moans to slip out into the kiss. Suddenly Willow found herself face down in the mattress, Tara having slipped out from under her. She turned around and gaped at the blonde.
"What the hell?"
"Well we need to leave soon and I have to shower," Tara said calmly, grabbing her robe, "Be out in a few."
"Vixeny tease," Willow muttered, covering her face with her hands to try and calm herself down.
Standing up a few minutes later she stood up and fixed her bra and shirt before walking into the kitchen and taking some drinks she put in the refrigerator in anticipation of bringing it along, putting it in the basket. Tara appeared after a short while, dressed for the day and wrapped her arms around the redhead's midsection.
"Sorry about leaving you high and dry…"
"I don't think 'dry' is the right word," Willow grinned, "And I'm not sorry. You'll just have to finish it later."
"You better believe I will," Tara purred, then saw the basket sitting atop the table, "Oh wow, you really went all out."
"Well this isn't just any old brunch. This is our first brunch as future-married people and should be treated in the highest esteem and with due respect."
"Well then, I'm glad you're at the helm of it," Tara said with a grin, "You make anything much more refined just by being there."
"You mean when I babble endlessly or snort when I laugh?"
"Exactly. Two of the many, many things I love about you."
"I love you too," Willow replied with a goofy smile, "Come on, let's head out."
The redhead grabbed the basket with one hand and joined the other with Tara's as they walked out the door and to their local 'T' stop and got on the green line that took them to just outside the Boston Public Gardens. They walked into the large park and past the large equestrian statue of George Washington, making their way to the pond area where Willow had said they would meet their friends. The redhead glanced at her watch and saw they were a little early, then her face lit up as she spotted a familiar landmark.
"Hey, look. Our bench."
She put the basket on the grass as they arrived at the wooden seat and instantly turned to cup the blonde's cheek and bring their lips together, remembering what the particular seating structure was so important to them.
"Tara! Hey!"
Tara turned when she heard her name being called and smiled at the approaching redhead.
"You know, you don't have to buy me a coffee every time you see me," Tara said with a slight grin as she took the Styrofoam cup offered to her, "You've more than made up for the spilled one."
"Well, I still feel bad, you know," Willow replied with a blush.
The two had been hanging around campus over the three weeks since they'd crashed into each other, striking up an easy friendship. Willow was more sociable than Tara, joining her roommate for campus concerts and had been a member of a few groups her freshman year, but wasn't overly outgoing either, liking the company of books and her laptop as she had become accustomed to growing up, so making a new friend was something she was happy about.
What she wasn't happy about was how unsure she was of how the blonde felt about their friendship, particularly whether she wanted them to be more than friends. A passing comment about a crush on Mariska Hargitay had confirmed the liking of girls but she had no idea how to bring up the possible liking of her. She was normally able to read people extremely well and her inability to do so in this situation was frustrating her almost as much as not being able to kiss her beautiful new friend every time she saw her.
"I'm glad you suggested hanging out in the park," Tara said as they started walking along, "It's nice to get off campus."
"This place is really beautiful, huh? All the flowers, and green…and the lake. Hey, have you ever been on one of those paddle boats?"
"No," Tara shook her head, "Never had anyone to go with and I didn't want to go on my own. What about you?"
"Nope. But I've always wanted to. Do you, um, maybe, wanna…?"
"Yea?" Tara asked, smiling when the redhead nodded, "Then yes. Definitely."
They made their way over to the Swan Boats and Tara paid the small fee before Willow had a chance to object.
"For all the coffees," she said as they climbed onto the boat and sat on the bench in the front, "Boston's so pretty."
Willow bit her lip to stop herself from replying 'you're so pretty', instead opting to just smile and nod as the boat started its tour around the water.
The two stayed quiet during the tour, but it wasn't an awkward silence, it was comfortable, that's what Willow surmised anyway and it was something that pleased her. Normally she felt the need to fill silences with other people up by talking incessantly, it's how her habit of babbling had developed and being able to be quiet and at ease with herself and her surroundings was just another thing to add to her 'why Tara is so awesome' list; a list she had been compiling in her head since she'd met the blonde.
They docked back at the bank and stepped off the boat. Tara walked over to throw her now-empty coffee cup in a trash can and sat on the bench that was next to it. Willow followed and sat next to her friend, a small gap between them. She looked over at her friend, who was gazing peacefully out at the water and inched a little closer.
"Tara?"
"Yes?"
"I really wanna hold your hand."
Willow held her breath as she waited for a response, her heart beating furiously in her chest. She was expecting Tara to move away or jump up, disgusted, or even to be yelled at for ruining their friendship. What she wasn't expecting was a warm hand to cover hers and give a small squeeze. She exhaled with a beaming smile on her face, marvelling at how right it felt to have Tara's hand in hers and turned her hand in the blonde's, squeezing back. After a moment she decided to go for broke and took another deep breath.
"Tara?"
"Yea?"
"I really wanna kiss you."
Tara turned to meet Willow's gaze and parted her lips invitingly. The redhead swallowed to get some moisture back in her mouth and leaned forwards half-way, letting the blonde decide one way or the other whether they'd kiss. The decision was made swiftly and Willow quickly found a soft pair of lips on her own, moving gently. The pace of the kiss got gradually faster until Tara almost timidly ran her tongue over Willow's bottom lip, asking for entrance, which was readily granted. The smaller girl reached for the blonde's other hand and held them both tightly as their tongues clashed repeatedly and fervently.
She was blown away by how amazing the sensation of kissing Tara was – she knew that if they did ever kiss it would be incredible, but actually doing it was exceeding anything she could've imagined. They continued kissing for an indeterminate amount of time until both felt their lungs start to burn, begging for oxygen. They pulled back and rested their foreheads together, breathing heavily and smiling at each other. After a minute Tara bit her lip shyly before speaking.
"Willow?"
"Uh huh?"
"I really wanna do that again."
Willow sucked Tara's bottom lip into her mouth, smiling internally at the memory of their first kiss - and the many subsequent kisses that had followed that afternoon – and how even four years later the touch of Tara's lips on her own electrified her. She was about to push her tongue forward, to deepen the kiss when something was brought down between her and Tara's faces, separating them. She glanced to the side and seeing who it was that had put what she determined to be a newspaper between them, rolled her eyes and grabbed the paper, throwing it in the trash.
"If you can't be nice with your paper, Becky, you shouldn't have a paper at all."