Start of a New Life
by Rin
Progress and Problems
[reviews]
A/N: Just to warn you, there is an extremely realistic topic discussed in the 2nd half. Some people are going to be grossed out, so just be warned. I'm just trying to keep it realistic here, and it is a problem for two women lovers at times.
----------------
It had been two months. Two short months full of love, life, and the pursuit of happiness. Even though it was hard to get over the betrayal, Willow had called Giles to let him know Buffy was okay, and that his serum worked. However, she did give him quite a piece of her mind. The movie adaptation from Buffy's book had premiered, and the two lovers were there, hand in hand, smile upon smile, and random kisses in the darkened theatre. After the near death experience, it was harder to keep their hands off each other, which was amazing since they hadn't been able to do that before Buffy took ill. Yes, life was back to normal for the brides, and even though the movie wasn't a huge success, a major broadcasting company bought the rights to do an hour long television series but there would be many things changed, and the writer felt that her vision was going to come alive with that show, more so than the cheap, Hollywood film.
There was a brief reappearance of Adam, and to say that the two lovers were not happy is an understatement. The Frankenstein-like man had come back to 'claim' Dawn but the younger woman had other things in mind. Since she had moved into the apartment, she would still come over practically everyday for food, just as predicted by her big sister. Willow could cook up a storm, and the best part was the lack of effort she put into her dishes. Anyways, back to the whole Adam fiasco. Actually, it didn't take long to beat his ass into the ground. When Dawn wouldn't willingly go with him, he had tried to force her, and that's how Buffy and Willow found them in their backyard. Jumping immediately to action, the small blonde attacked the monstrous man from behind, successfully pulling him off of her sister. Willow took action, and tended to Dawn, while her petite wife fixed the Adam problem once and for all. Once beaten to a pulp, Adam was confused as to how Buffy could better him, so he just took off with his male ego, and hadn't returned since, and probably never would because he saw the fire in Buffy's eyes when she threatened him if he ever did.
That was all over, though, and it was another peaceful day, free from baddies. Willow walked into the door with a frown on her face; work had been extra hard. Her absence for those three weeks had taken a toll on the company, and she was still trying to fix things. Plus, Drusilla came back to her, begging in her crazy way about a new group she'd formed with her doll, Miss Edith. Xander was getting sloppy, and recording costs were up too high. That wouldn't have been a problem if the tracks from the studios were actually worthwhile. Basically, Watchers Records was taking a dive, and fast. Willow had to think of a solution before her hard-earned business nose-dived. The only things keeping them in the green were the successful beginning tours of Glory, Rogue Slayer, and the Nerds.
When the door opened, Buffy placed the book she was reading on the coffee table, and extricated herself from the couch. Knowing that it was Willow, she wanted to be extra happy, and make sure that her redheaded lover would release the stress that was lying heavy on her at the moment. They hadn't had sex in three days because Willow would get phone calls at the home, or would bring home paperwork that she couldn't finish in the office. The strain was getting to her wife, and Buffy had every intention to help. She'd been reading up on the work that Willow actually did that week, and she felt that she could at least pitch a hand. Her second book was currently in publication, and she'd postponed the book tour this time, waiting to make sure that Willow would be safe and happy before leaving. This time, at least, she wouldn't be gone for a month. Sales were already high, and shows, a few signings, and appearances were the only things she'd need to do to help boost those already amazing numbers even higher. She'd proposed not taking a tour at all but Quentin Travers made it clear that there was no other way. Robin just apologized for the older man, and held sympathy for her, considering that her last tour had been an utter disaster and wreck for the blonde. Now, though, it was all about Willow. Actually, it was always about Willow to Buffy. That was her mission statement.
"Hey, baby. Rough day again?" Buffy helped Willow take her jacket off, and placed it on the coat rack before enveloping her in an extra long embrace, kissing her tenderly. Willow just nodded, and buried her head into her wife's neck, glad for the comfort and relaxation at home.
"Yeah but at least I managed to finish the paperwork today, so I'm all yours tonight. I promise." Willow wrapped her own arms around Buffy, and placed soft kisses along the sensitive neck. "I'm pooped. Just want to spend an evening alone with my wife, and relax. Is that too much to ask?"
"Not if you ask me." Buffy took Willow's head, and pulled her into a loving kiss, then pulled her over to the couch. Sitting down, Willow started breathing exercises to maintain some sense of calm and relaxation but after a few minutes of that, she become frustrated, and stopped, turning to her still reading wife. "You okay?"
"Argh! This is just so...so...so frustrating, and I'm tired already." Willow leaned back, and rested her head at the back of the oversized couch.
"I didn't realize meditating was such hard work." Buffy raised an eyebrow, hoping that Willow would relax through her playful tone. Didn't work, though, and Willow began to try and meditate again. "I thought you were too tired."
"It hurts too much not to try." Willow started her breathing exercises again, and felt Buffy rub her back gently in reassurance.
"I'm sorry." The blonde hated seeing her wife this stressed, and still wanted to help in any way possible. At the moment, it appeared the small gesture was enough.
"It just takes so much strength. I don't have that much." Willow started deeper breathing but was still having trouble. Buffy seeing this, took her wife's hands in her own, and squeezed them gently until she opened her eyes with that cute, questioning glance.
"I got so much strength, I'm giving it away." Buffy pulled Willow into another heart-warming hug before divesting the startled redhead of her blouse. This was not helping Willow's breathing calm down.
"Are you sure?" Willow wasn't sure sex was what she needed at the moment, although not unwelcome at any time from Buffy. She'd just walked through the door first, so she figured that she'd at least have time to pee and take her shoes off before something like this happened.
"Will it help?" Buffy's loving gaze assured Willow that it was okay. Maybe unexpected but definitely okay. At least she'd be relieving frustration in a nice, very naked Buffy type way.
"Much." Or so she thought. Buffy removed the redhead's bra, then positioned her face down, sprawled on the stuffed cushions of the couch. When she straddled her wife's bare back, she Buffy leant close to Willow's ear, and breathily exclaimed:
"Good." Moving back up, much to the protesting whine, Buffy began massaging all the kinks and knots from her lover's shoulders. Telling Willow to hold on, and not move, the blonde ran up the stairs, and came rushing down with sandalwood scented massage oil. It would help her hands move, and the scent was meant to soothe, which was the goal after all. Continuing with the massage, Buffy's strong hands worked her wife's oiled back to perfection. "I'll never get tired of rubbing this back." Buffy hadn't realized that she'd voiced her opinions out loud but relaxed when she remembered it was Willow, and that she was just being honest.
"Don't stop then." Willow bucked her butt up, and threw Buffy off balance for a moment, which caused the blonde to smirk mischievously before tickling her lover fiercely. The giggling, tickling, and gropiness finally allowed Willow to relax, and she moved to find her shirt again, pulling it back on over her head (forget the bra), ruffling her hair slightly. Buffy immediately went about fixing it by placing stray strands into place, and sifting her fingers through the auburn locks. "Mmmm...thanks, I needed that."
"I aim to please." Buffy was rewarded with a slow, sensual kiss, and still had her eyes half-closed when Willow pulled away, leaving her wanting more.
"Good." Willow was chipper again, and skipped into the kitchen, the harshness of work far gone from the recesses of her overworking mind. "What do you want for dinner?"
"Let's go out to eat. We'll go on a date. What do ya say?" Buffy walked into the kitchen to find her lover with her body halfway in the refrigerator already. "We can go down to Anya's. I have a craving for that Roast Beef and Cheddar sandwich. Plus, there are some books I want to pick up that I ordered. She called today to let me know they were in, and yours are in, too."
"Well, then. That's settled." Willow shut the fridge door, and walked back over to her wife, wrapping her arms around her waist loosely. "You always have the best ideas."
"Anything for my Wills. Besides, I leave for that stupid book tour next week, and I want all the Willow time I can get before I go. I just hate that I'm leaving while you're all busy." Buffy's face showed her concern, and Willow reassured her that she'd be fine by kissing her tenderly, and caressing her cheek lightly.
"I'll be fine. Just worry about the tour, and I'll come up to New York next weekend if I can. Now that, I'm afraid, I can't promise." Willow's face fell, and Buffy noticed the telltale signs of stress and sadness entering her wife's demeanor. There would be none of that.
"Alright. Well, let's get going then. Shall we? Plus, we can check on Dawn, and catch a movie while we're over there. I think some French film is playing. 'Le Banquet d'Amelia,' I think it was called. I'm not sure. So, what do ya say? Dinner, movie, and if you're really lucky, some sneaky smoochies in the theatre." Buffy started to walk upstairs, Willow holding her hands from behind, and not missing a step. "So...what do ya say? Is it a date?"
"Hmm...I'll have to check my calendar." Willow taps her chin with a thoughtful expression, and gets a mock pout from her lover. "Well, okay. I guess I can pencil you in there somewhere."
"Great! So...let's get you out of work clothes, and into something ultra sexy, and me..." Buffy looks down at her sweatpants, t-shirt, and thermal socks. "...out of my clothes."
"I like that idea." Willow was frustrated in a different way now. The date sounded like fun but her wife naked was better.
"Hey!! Hands off the merchandise!! You have to earn it first. So, date and smoochies, and then maybe, just maybe you'll get to see me naked." Buffy threw her sexy smirk towards Willow, letting her know that yes, indeed there would be naked Buffy time later if that's what she wanted.
"Okay...just as long as it's worth it." Willow added spice to the already sensual air by throwing out her own sexy smirk.
"Oh...it's always worth it." Buffy kissed her softly before walking towards the closet, and picking out some clothes for their evening of wining, dining, and romance...and naked fun time.
--------------
"Well." Buffy walked out of the theatre, holding Willow's sweaty palm, and feeling the heat from her body mixing with the heat from her lover's.
"Well." Willow was still shocked. Just what did Buffy take her to see?
"It was very...artistic." Buffy tried to keep her cool. The movie was actually a porn, and seeing all the...interactions played out on the screen, and having Willow snuggled against her were not helping her hormones a bit. She was afraid that she'd abandon all moral, and take Willow there on the street, underneath her old apartment.
"Yeah." Willow was STILL in shock, and her hormones were faring any better.
"Wasn't exactly what I expected. I've never actually seen...Well, from the title I thought it was about food." Buffy was sheepish, silently apologizing for not checking the film's credentials before they saw it.
"There was food." Willow was still in the land of shocked.
"Right. The...the scene with the...the food. So...feel like getting a hot chocolate, or maybe a cold shower?" Buffy squeezed Willow's hand, and the redhead squeaked her way back from shockland. "I'm sorry. I wanted to take you out someplace nice. I don't mean to get you worked up like that, since we can't do any of those things right now." Willow looked at her questioningly, then groaned because from all of the fun and sexual tension around them, they'd forgotten one of the main reasons they hadn't had sex in three days. It was that time of the month for both of them. "Besides, I don't even have a kimono."
"That's okay. After seeing that, I hope to never see a kimono ever again." Willow groaned, and rested her head on her high-heeled girlfriend's shoulder. Since Buffy was shorter, they would compensate by their shoe heels. That way they could be at an even eye level, and it was never a problem. Besides, there wasn't really that much difference between them. It was just an inch or two but the girls still like to be eye level. "I could go for some hot chocolate, though. Maybe give us time to cool off before going home, where there's just us, and the possibilities of not caring, which isn't sanitary, and really messy, and against Jewish laws, and..."
"Wills..." Buffy smiled, and pulled the babbler back to land. "It's okay. I understand completely. The ick factor plays a major role but, and I realize this is disgusting, if it came down to it...I wouldn't hesitate regardless."
"Buffy, that's so sweet." Willow had her sappy Buffy face on, and thought about the comment again, switching to her 'need to shrug it off, and forget it' face. "And also a little disturbing but I get what you mean. You'd take me anywhere, anytime, anyplace."
"Well...pretty much. There are a few places I wouldn't want to take you, although I wouldn't hesitate if it came down to it. Just a little out of respect is all." They found a seat, and Buffy told the waitress their order before she left to retrieve the two hot chocolately beverages.
"Such as?" Willow was curious, and although she realized Buffy was contradicting herself a little, she also recognized that the blonde was only reassuring her that she would indeed take her anytime, anyplace, anywhere but there were limits that wouldn't be crossed if they could help it all.
"Well...the graveyard, for instance. In particular, around mom's grave, or Tara's for that matter. It just wouldn't feel right, especially Tara's in that sense. I'd feel like I was rubbing her, well...dirt in it that I have you now, and she doesn't." Buffy seeing Willow's 'I miss Tara' smirk, rubbed her thumb over the soft hand of her lover, trying to get her to understand that she would never mess with that memory. "I know you like the thrill of the public sex but there is a limit to how public. Middle of the street, where everybody can see, for instance. I'm greedy, and want you all to myself."
"Darn tootin'." They received their drinks, and finished them with lighthearted conversation, successfully managing to calm down a little after that...interesting choice of film. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah...just let me pay really quick. I'll be right back." Buffy ran up to the counter, and Willow just watched her wife walk away, enjoying the merchandise's ass. "I definitely hit jackpot."
"Willow! I heard that!" Buffy turned around, and sent a playful smirk her way, letting her know that she was going to get hers when certain aspects were safer grounds to walk upon. With that, the two women headed back to their house, hand in hand, and just glad to be with one another, and free from any real threats to their relationship. It was relaxing, and that gave Willow an idea that she would use to bring Watchers Records back around again. All was good, and safely snuggled together once they were in bed, the two women slept peacefully, full of promise of the next day.