Happy Development
by Whedonist
Talks of the Revealing Variety
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Chapter 12 — Talks of the Revealing Variety
After she got out of the shower Willow watched Buffy pace the length of their hotel room. Buffy had ordered Xander and River to take care of Faith while she dragged Willow away from the pool and back to their room. The alcohol in Willow's system had seemed to magically disappear once she took the leap in to the pool and now she was just trying to run through everything that had or rather hadn't been said tonight. Buffy hadn't met her gaze once and Willow was fed up.
"Buffy stop with the worried father to be routine and sit down." Willow snapped.
The blonde nodded and took a seat on the bed opposite Willow. Buffy's stomach was doing somersaults, in fact if it could have jumped from her throat and joined an Olympic team, she was positive that it would have won gold. Her hands were sweaty and the nervousness that she was currently trying to reign in was causing her head to spin.
Willow looked at her friend and a streak of compassion bit through her. "Okay, I'll go first. Inara and I didn't have sex. I wanted, but she stopped me and said a whole bunch of stuff, but it boiled down to her thinking that you were in love with me. Now," Willow put her hand up to stop the words that were on the tip of the slayer's tongue. "I'm not really sure what in the name of Zeus is going on with you Buff, but between what Faith said, what Inara said, and the fact that you've been kinda weird lately something is seriously of the up and you haven't been honest with me. This stops now. What in the hell is going on?" Willow folded her arms across her chest and waited.
"Will, do we really have to do this? Me and the big emotionals were never close." Buffy took in the confused look of her friend and huffed out. She re-commenced her pacing and smiled at Willow's exasperated sigh. "What do you want? I don't know what's going on anymore than you do. All I know is that at first there were dreams, and then there were fuzzies and then Christ...Inara...I mean...you just go and attach yourself to her and it's taken nearly every ounce of self control I've got to not drag you away like Cave Buffy and declare you mine."
"How? What? How?"
Buffy laughed at the reference, "I don't know the what or the how I just know that I'm pretty sure it's been building in here" Buffy placed a hand over her heart. "You've always been the strongest one Will despite the crazy you've kept me going and I guess...I dunno maybe it wasn't until you left with Kennedy that the pieces started falling into place"
"Okay, who knew you could be this confused?"
Buffy sucked in some air and continued while taking a seat next to her friend, "I could go into this the long or short and since well I'm going to quickly lose my nerves I'm going to go with short. I could explain to you the million and ten ways we are dummies. I can tell you how, for as long as I can remember, I've harbored more then friendly feelings towards you, but I'm not gonna. Wills I'm scared ya know? I mean if this is what it was like for you when you realized that you liked-liked Tara then I'm sorry. I should have been there for you more. So there you have it." Buffy finished the babble and dropped her head noticing that in the course of her rant she had taken hold of Willow's hands and was marveling at the way they fit together so perfectly.
Willow sat there, speechless and frightened. Her brain took in all that her friend said and she back peddled over the more than friendly feelings and then she jumped to the time that Buffy's felt this way and then she went back to being called a dummy and then the feeling of wanting to either kick Faith's ass or kiss her senseless came to the fore of her thoughts.
The witch managed a strangled, "Oh,"
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"...So that's what you came to tell me?" Inara looked at the man across from her and did an internal eye roll. She had been reading a book Willow had given her and was enjoying the quiet when he came knocking on the door a half hour ago and since then he had fidgeted and said a lot of nothing. In fact he had just gone on a lengthy tangent about what was going to happen tomorrow as if she hadn't been there for the umpteen meetings to commit the plans to memory.
Mal swung his hands and nodded at Inara's question. The nerve he had gotten up to come in here and talk to her had left almost as soon as he walked in and he was left nervous and scared that things were going horribly awry. "Well, that and I, uh, wanted to see how you were getting along."
"That's very sweet of you, but as you can see I'm quite alright. In fact considering the hour, shouldn't we all be getting some rest? Big day tomorrow, another heist to get us out of another disastrous situation." Inara smiled and waited on Mal.
"Right, at least this time it's not dolls." He snickered at the jibe and then decided to pry a little, "Oh, I been meaning to ask you what's goin' on with you and the redhead?"
"I'm not sure how it's any of your concern." She folded her arms across her chest and bristled. His tone was too reminiscent of how he talked about her and a client.
"I's just wonderin' is all? You two look to be gettin' awful close. Be a shame to make such a nice friend then have to leave."
"Mal, stop. I've no time for your petty routine of "poke fun and make lewd innuendo at the whore" tonight. If you are done telling me about the job tomorrow, I would just as soon see you leave than hear you talk poorly of myself or Willow. Besides which, if Buffy heard you utter a bad word about the girl you would be eating her favorite stake."
"Yeah that Buffy sure is a firecracker ain't she? Man if we'd a had some of them slayers fightin' for the 'coats I don't think we would have lost the war. Hell I think Buffy and Faith woulda been enough to turn the tide."
"Mal." Inara warned.
He couldn't stop pushing. "'Course I was also wonderin' what you two had been gettin' up to seein' as how Buffy's got a mite long yearnin' for the girl you've been courtin' unless a'course she's payin' you." The words left his mouth before he could censor them and as they registered with Inara he wished he could take them back. His control was waning and then disappeared as a stinging sensation echoed in his brain and he realized Inara had slapped him. He looked at her and saw the tears in her eyes and the horror of what she'd just done.
Stepping into her space he grabbed her upper arms and fused their mouths together. Inara was shocked at first, but quickly gave in to Mal's demanding kiss. She let herself be carried backwards and pushed on to the bed.
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Buffy stood not waiting on Willow to say yes, she knew by the look of confusion and hopefulness plastered on her friends face. She pulled Willow up and in one swift motion wrapped one arm around her waist pulling the witch against her and tilted her head up to lay a gentle kiss on Willow's lips. The first kiss was soft and tender, Buffy having wanted to put as much as she felt for the redhead into the first contact.
Willow moaned as she felt Buffy's tongue slip into her half parted lips and let her tongue greet the foreign body. She traced the appendage and as Buffy responded in turn, she sucked at it hungrily. The witch's head swam and she was certain that when her socks came off in hopefully the next five minutes, her toes would be permanently curled.
Buffy pulled back allowing them to catch their breath. She nibbled Willow's lower lip and ran her hand up and down Willow's side. The slayer's body hummed in ways she hadn't thought possible. That one kiss had set her on fire. All the cheesy romance lines she could ever think of popped in to her head in rapid succession. She was literally weak kneed, starry eyed, and so turned on that she knew that salvaging the bikini bottoms she was wearing was an exercise in futility.
She stopped Willow from going further though. "Wills, wait, are you sure?" Every nerve ending she had was screaming at her to push Willow to the bed and make with the ravaging, but her mind and heart wanted assurance that Willow was on the same page.
"Sure about what?"
"That you want this" Buffy hoped she was being clear.
"I wasn't 30 minutes ago, but you can't question lips like that. Com'ere" Willow let her teeth show in a smile and then pulled Buffy back to her.
Buffy took over and the need for naked flesh was the only thought ringing through her head. From past experience, having human type lover's never allowed for a complete release of control. It was the one reason she carried on with Spike for so long. No control. It was blissfully out of control for a time. Then badness set it and the blonde knew it had to end.
Buffy took in the sight of Willow's flushed face, dilated eyes, shallow breath, and the ever tell tale sign of two stony nipples pushing through the thin fabric of the witch's night shirt. Reaching towards her perfect, pert and most definitely going to be delicious tits Buffy ran her thumbs over stiff peaks and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath. That was all it took for Willow to draw the slayer closer to rip her bikini top away.
Willow ran a hand over Buffy's breasts and then trailed down taking in the slight curve of her new lover's hips. Moving achingly slow, Willow placed a firm grip on the blonde's ass. She teased the fabric of the bikini bottom away from her friend's hips and slipped a finger in the bow that was holding the bottoms on. In one quick movement Willow let the small piece of fabric pool at Buffy's feet. Buffy tried to suppress a giggle at the devilish look Willow wore taking in a very naked slayer. The blonde had never seen Willow check her out but had on occasion taken to ogling her best friends' goodies.
Buffy reached out and plucked at the thin shirt. Arching an eyebrow, Buffy said, "Someone's a little over dressed." She moved in and slipped the shirt over Willow's head and placed kisses up along her shoulder to her neck and ear. The blonde sucked in an ear lobe and traced the cartilage with her tongue.
"I think..." Buffy stopped unable to recognize her voice. It was deep, hungry, wanton. "Bed, Wills. I need you now or you are going to have to clean up a big pile of ex-Buffy slayer mush. I don't think the hotel will be too happy."
Willow nodded and the next thing Buffy knew she was lying on the bed, Willow straddling her hips. She stared at flawless, delicious looking alabaster skin. A flat toned stomach that always made her curious as to the how of Willow's perfectly sculpted body. Buffy took the sides of Willow's underwear and ripped the seams. Tugging from the front she pulled the ruined garment from underneath the witch.
Buffy watched as the redhead slowly moved from narrow shoulders down her body leaving a trail of kisses that felt like branding irons. Willow finally made it to the juncture of her friend's thighs. Buffy watched as Willow's face disappeared for a moment then felt the pressure of an open mouth kiss dead center on her slit. Willow stopped and then smiled up at Buffy in the distinctly Willowy way that usually stopped the slayer's heart for a few seconds.
"Someone's ready." Willow chided lightly.
The enormity of their situation crashed down on them at that moment. Buffy sobered and pulled Willow up for another kiss. She grabbed hold of Willow's waist and flipped positions so that now she was straddling the redhead. She kneaded the small mounds on Willow's chest and met her lover's gaze. The love that had always been there shone through causing shivers to run the length of Buffy's back. She ran her hands down over a perfect body and tested the weight of each breast as she ran her thumbs over erect nipples.
There was a spot right below and to the left of the redhead's left nipple that produced goosebumps if caressed properly. Buffy took note and bent over to lick it. She was rewarded with Willow bowing into the slayers touch. Her hands roamed over perfect flesh. Feeling the occasional scar that Willow had received from fighting demons almost as long as the blonde. The slayer drank in the moans and shudders caused by her touch and tongue. She worked her way down taut flesh, across the other girl's torso; thighs, legs and ending comfortably nestled between the thighs of her lover.
This first time Buffy wanted their love making to be as special as she could make it and she worshipped Willow in ways she didn't think were possible. Gone was the need to only satisfy herself or to calm the voice in her head, instead clear focus asserted itself and she realized that they had come very far from where they had started even if they were still fighting demons on a hellmouth. As individuals they had grown, and somewhere along the way Buffy found out just how much she'd changed. She took the scent of Willow's arousal in and slowly parted the witch's thighs.