"You alright there, Will?" Buffy asked as her friend ambled up to her outside the FBI building and handed her a coffee cup, as was their morning routine. She smirked as she saw a small but noticeable limp in the redhead's step, "You're, ah, dragging yourself a little."

"Don't you smirk at me, missy Summers," Willow retorted, holding onto her hip as they stood outside the building. Sure enough, when she'd woken up and tried to get out of bed, she had had significant trouble in getting her limbs to move after the workout they'd gotten the night before, "Corrupting my wife, taking her to pole dancing classes."

Buffy just continued to smirk.

"It looks like you very much enjoyed the efforts of those classes."

Willow blushed but couldn't help a small grin.

"That's none of your business. Even if it was..."

Willow just whistled, low and long and Buffy laughed.

"I hope my show for Angel tonight has the same effect on him that Tara's had on you."

"You're doing something tonight?" Willow grinned before clapping her hands together excitedly, "Oh, oh, uh, I don't know what it's called, but do the move where um, you kind of end up like upside down on the pole? And then you stretch one leg out and wrap the other one around the pole? He'll be putty in your hands if you do that. Trust me. Especially if you don't wear underwear."

Willow squealed, her eyes widening and a hand clamping over her mouth as she realised what she said.

"Oh god, please don't tell Tara I told you she wasn't wearing underwear when she did the dance," she continued, lowering her hand from her mouth but looking extremely worried, "I mean, obviously you knew she was gonna be trying out the moves and she said you helped with the number for the pole guy but I really doubt she told you specifics because despite the fact that we inexplicably seem to always get walked in on and a few brief forays into kinda-exhibitionism – oh god, I didn't say that either, and it wasn't really, there's just been a few times in the car and then the yard...and once on a plane, and okay, a coat closet once, twice and ugh what I'm trying to say is that she really doesn't like sharing things about our private time and I don't either because it's just between us and I know it was only a small detail but I wouldn't want her thinking I just blab to anyone who'll listen how hot she is in bed and–"

Buffy grabbed the redhead's shoulder and shook them slightly, never having seen her go quite so intensely into babble mode.

"Willow, breathe," she said calmly and waited for her friend to quieten down, "Jeez, I don't think I've ever seen you go so red."

Willow ran a hand through her hair.

"You won't tell Tara? Or anyone?"

"I didn't even hear you say it. Not a word," Buffy reassured, mimicking a zipping motion over her lips before giving the redhead a small nudge, "And thanks for the tip. Funnily enough, that move is called 'angel'."

Willow let out a low laugh, suitably relieved.

"Awesome. Oh and um..." she trailed off for a moment before giving Buffy a big, genuine smile, "Thank you so much for getting Tara those lessons for her birthday. Not just because of last night, it's just...I dunno, she's been brighter in herself since you guys started. She got a real confidence boost. And when I was still recovering those Tuesday nights were the only time I really saw her smile."

"I enjoyed it, too," Buffy smiled back, "Tara's a real fun girl to be around."

Willow's smile got impossibly wider.

"You don't have to tell me that. She's amazing," she said, looking away fondly for a moment before blushing as she realised what she was doing, "Sorry."

"Don't be, it's so cute how lost you two get over each other," Buffy replied with a quiet chuckle, "I wish Angel went all dreamy-eyed over me sometimes."

"Aww, he does, Buff," Willow replied, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, "You know, in his own closed-off, internal kinda way."

Buffy rolled her eyes playfully and laughed; she didn't mind really, she knew Angel loved her, he just had his own quiet way of showing it. She glanced down at her watch and nodded towards the building they were standing outside.

"We better get in there. Too much chatty makes a late Buffy and a late Buffy makes a cranky boss who shouts."

"Yea, come on," Willow agreed as they walked through the large entrance doors and flashed their badges to reception as they walked towards the elevator, "I'm looking forward to today being over."

Buffy looked at the redhead sceptically and with a raise eyebrow as she pressed both of their floor numbers inside the elevator.

"Willow Rosenberg not excited about a day of hacking?"

Willow laughed and shook her head.

"No, just looking forward to the weekend. And this evening."

"Ooh, doing something exciting, are we?" Buffy asked, her interest piqued.

Willow shrugged with a smile.

"Dunno if it's exciting but I'm looking forward to it. Dad and Michelle are coming over for my birthday. Tara's cooking dinner. And there's nothing better than my girl's cooking."

"Hey guys," Willow greeted warmly as she opened the door to Ira and Michelle, "Welcome."

She stood aside to let the two in and closed the door behind them, giving a small smiled when she saw that they're hands were joined.

She was the first to admit she'd been completely taken aback when she'd found out about their relationship – probably mostly due to the way she'd found out; seeing your father making out with your wife's aunt on your own sofa wasn't an image that you got out of your head quickly – but she could help but be happy at the smile that seemed permanently attached to her his face.

She knew her father had loved her mother, or at least had in the beginning but she had a sneaking suspicion that being with Michelle was the first time he'd ever actually been in love. She didn't know whether they'd actually said the words to one another, she didn't think it was any of her business quite frankly, but she did know her dad was hopelessly head over heels for Michelle. She saw it every time he looked at her.

She knew because it was the same look she got on her face whenever she saw Tara.

"My beautiful wife is making Acapulco Chicken," she said, snapping herself free from her thoughts and starting towards the dining room.

"As in...going loco?" Ira asked, completely serious and Willow burst out laughing, making the man blush, "I'm not exactly well versed in all things culinary."

"It's a Mexican dish," Michelle explained kindly.

"And my baby makes a killer version," Willow continued, having stopped laughing but still grinning, "Come in, sit down. Wine?"

She got two sets of nods and went to turn but Ira placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her and shyly handed her an envelope.

"I really was quite unsure as to what...Tara tells me it's your favourite store so I thought you might like...anyway, it's from both of us. Happy Birthday, darling."

"Happy Birthday, Willow," Michelle added with a smile.

Willow excitedly opened the envelope and beamed when she saw a gift voucher for what was indeed her favourite store, a local computer and electronics shop.

"Thanks, guys," she said, pulling them both into a quick hug, "This is great. I was just in there the other day and was thinking of getting one of those new eBook reader thingies. Really, thank you."

"You're quite welcome," Ira smiled, before both him and Michelle took a seat at the immaculately-set table.

Willow smiled again at the two before turning to leave again.

"I'll go get the wine."

She quickly went into the kitchen where Tara was dishing the servings of the chicken onto 4 plates and put her gift voucher on the island before inhaling deeply.

"Smells wonderful."

"It's the cilantro," Tara smiled, "Brings out the flavour and aroma of all the other spices."

"I meant..." Willow replied, walking up to her wife and wrapping her arms around her waist, "You smell wonderful. Is that new perfume?"

"It's yours actually," Tara said with a grin, "I didn't realise I was so low on my own so I had to borrow a squirt."

Willow dropped her head into the blonde's neck and inhaled deeply again.

"Well it smells heavenly on you. Why doesn't it smell that good on me?"

Tara smiled as she felt a soft kiss being placed on her neck.

"Oh trust me, sweetheart, it smells amazing on you too. I used to steal some from your purse and spray it all over my pillows when we were dating for the nights you didn't stay over. Pre-you moving in with me, of course."

"Wait," Willow replied, seemingly in serious thought, "There were nights I didn't stay over?"

Tara laughed and sprinkled some grated cheese on top of the plates; it had indeed been a rare occurrence that Willow didn't stay in Tara's dorm with her in the early days of their dating.

Sleeping together, in the literal sense of actually sleeping, had been something they'd grown accustomed to quite quickly.

"Once or twice. When Becky would take you out to the college gigs and get you so drunk you didn't know which end was up. There was that one night you managed to find your way to my dorm..."

Willow winced as she remembered the exact night Tara was recalling; when their relationship was still very new and Becky had gotten her exceptionally inebriated. Willow had banged on Tara's door at 2am, waking the blonde up, before getting a little too hands-y when Tara had graciously let her in and told her she could stay the night.

"Eugh," Willow groaned at the memory, "I'm still sorry about that. And you were so nice to me, especially the next day when I was so hungover. It's just, Becky had just been teasing me all night about 'my hot new girlfriend' and then she made a comment about you having a really nice rack and after suitably defending you, well...I really couldn't stop thinking about your boobies."

"Yea," Tara smirked, "I remember. You couldn't stop trying to touch them either."

"Hey, you were the one who couldn't keep your hands to yourself just a few days later after I wore that low cut top to the concert date we went on. Even if it was just over-the-sweater action I got for the next two months," Willow grinned before unabashedly grabbed onto her wife's chest, "And anyway, who could blame me? Look at those perfect breasts."

"Watch it, missy," Tara grinned back, turning in her wife's arms and handing her two of the plates, "It's not your birthday anymore. Bring those in, will you?"

"Sure," Willow nodded before glancing behind her, "Can you juggle the wine as well?"

"I can," Tara replied, holding the bottle under her arm as she held the other two plates in her hands.

They both walked into the dining room and placed the plates down at the respective places and Willow poured the wine before sitting in her own seat.

"Are you alright, dear?" Ira asked as Willow sat, "You seemed like you were walking a bit funny."

Willow contained the squeak that threatened to rise from her throat and concentrated on cutting a piece of chicken on her plate.

"I banged my hip against my desk earlier," she said, letting her hair fall over her face to hide the blush on her cheeks, "You know, right at the edge. Kinda winded me."

"Those small knocks can hurt the most," Michelle said, before looking at Tara who wasn't hiding her blush as well as Willow, "Are you alright, sweetheart? You look a little flushed."

There was no undertone in Michelle's statement, just genuine concern and Tara felt Willow kick her shin under the table.

"Just from the cooking," Tara answered with a forced smile, "And it's getting hot out, huh?"

"Oh yes," Ira nodded, with a fond look, "Starting to get more like California, which I'm quite happy about. It's hard to believe it's the start of May tomorrow, isn't it? The year is going by so fast. This chicken is quite delicious, Tara."

"Thank you," Tara replied, having recovered slightly and deciding to change the subject, "So how's work?"

Willow cast her wife a sidelong appreciative smile at the change in topic and Tara gave her a discreet wink in return.

They all ate their meal, chatting amiably for the evening until Ira and Michelle departed again, the day having turned well into night.

"Bye Dad, bye Michelle," Willow waved from the doorway, Tara waving from behind her as well as the older couple got into a cab, "Thanks for coming!"

"Thanks for having us," Michelle called back, slightly tipsy, "And Happy Birthday!"

"Happy Birthday," Ira waved demurely as he closed the cab door and they sped away.

Willow chuckled and gave a final wave before closing the front door and took Tara's hand, starting towards the living room.

"Well that was fun. It's really nice seeing them together. I've never heard my Dad laugh the way he does around her. He seems like a teenager sometimes. It's like – hey, why're you frowning?"

Willow frowned at the crease in her wife's brow as they stood in the doorway of the living room and placed her hands on her wife's hips.

"Will, you're still limping," Tara said, concern etched in her voice. She'd only been teasing the night before when she'd told Willow she wouldn't been able to walk the next day and had to admit, had been slightly proud when they'd woken up and her wife had in fact struggled to walk, but it was almost an entire day later now and the redhead was still struggling, "I didn't mean to overexert you or anything. I didn't want to hurt you."

"You didn't," Willow reassured with a smile, "No pain, just kinda stiff. And a very good kinda stiff, every time I move I remember a certain sexy blonde giving me a lapdance."

Tara blushed, but still looked worried.

"I wasn't too rough...? You're not sore..." she trailed off and gently put a hand over her wife's clothed center, "Here or anything?"

"No way," Willow shook her head, "Baby, last night was incredible. And I just have a kind of tightness in my thighs. It's fine."

"You're sure?" Tara asked and got a nod in return, "Okay."

She was about to turn into the living room when Willow suddenly grabbed her arms, a cheeky smile on her face.

"But I, ah...I wouldn't say no if you maybe wanted to...massage the tension away?"

"Oh really?" Tara grinned, tapping her fingers against the smaller girl's collarbone, "You know, we have massage oils..."

"Yes, we do," Willow grinned back, biting her lip, "Upstairs."

Tara moved her hand up and tucked a piece of hair behind her wife's ear.

"I suppose it's only fair I give you a massage, since it's my fault you're cramping anyway."

Willow's face lit up.

"What are we waiting for?"

Tara let herself be pulled up the stairs with a giggle and Willow instantly began disrobing.

"Hey now, slow down there," Tara laughed, "You're getting a massage, but we're not..."

"What?" Willow asked with a pout, letting her jeans fall to her ankles, "Why?"

Tara shook her head slightly.

"We've already strained your muscles. Massage and a good sleep and you'll be good as new."

"Baby, they're not so sore that we can't..." Willow trailed off when she saw the slightly guilty look on her wife's face and realised her wife was genuinely feeling bad that muscles were a bit cramped, "A massage and sleeping in your arms sounds wonderful."

Tara smiled and nodded towards the bed.

"Okay, get comfy," she said, opening the drawer of her nightstand, and looking for the small bottles they kept in there, "Orange or lavender?"

"Is there any of the vanilla left?" Willow asked as she lay on her stomach and rested her head on her arms, wearing just her t-shirt and her panties, "I like how it smells like you."

"Vanilla, vanilla..." Tara mumbled to herself before pulling out the small bottle of clear liquid, "Here we go."

Tara went to climb on the bed but Willow spoke up to stop her.

"Will you take your jeans off?" she asked and just shook her head with a smile at the look Tara gave her, "Not for that. Just so I can feel your skin against me."

"Sure," Tara smiled, undoing the button on her jeans and shaking herself free of them before getting onto the bed and kneeling between Willow's legs, "Where's sore?"

Willow gestured back with one hand.

"Back of my thighs."

"Here?" Tara asked, rubbing some oil onto her hands and placing them on the back of her wife's thighs, putting the bottle back on her nightstand.

"Little more inside," Willow mumbled and let out a low moan when Tara's warmed hands touched the exact spot she felt the strain, "Yea, right there."

Tara gently squeezed the flesh under her hands and Willow moaned again.

"That nice?"

"Mmhh, yea, baby...that feels so good."

Willow smiled as the smell of vanilla wafted up to her nose and instinctively spread her legs a little more. She wasn't seeking any kind of sexual contact – she knew they'd be all over each other at another time – but was enjoying immensely the loving and light touch her wife was giving her.

"I love you so much, Tare-bear," she said sleepily as her sore muscles relaxed completely and the rest of her body followed, "You...you know how much...how much I love..."

Tara peered over when she heard her wife trail off hazily and smiled when she saw her eyes were closed.

That was quick.

She continued to gently massage the redhead's thighs for another minute or two, wanting to make sure the tightness would be gone completely when she woke up. When she was happy that that would be the case, she quietly got off the bed and went to the bathroom to clean her hands. She brought a washcloth back with her and wiped the oil from Willow's thighs, making the redhead giggle.

"Tara, tickles..."

"I thought you were asleep," Tara chuckled and stifled a bigger laugh when she looked down and saw her wife actually was asleep, before lowering her voice to a whisper, "My little sleep-talker."

She quietly and quickly went about her own night time routine and got into a tank top and pair of boxers to sleep in before slipping onto the sheet beside her sleeping beauty and covering them both with the blanket.

She gathered Willow's sleeping form in her arms and spooned her gently before placing the gentlest of kisses behind her ear.

"Love you, angel."