Author: ophelia11
Rating: PG-13 for pottymouths and innuendo. Strong chance for naughtiness later on.
Disclaimer: The story is mine. The characters are not. :(
Feedback: Pretty please? Please leave feedback on the Impulse thread on the Kitten Board.

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust

A year's worth of Saturdays were spent stretched out on the couch watching whatever Lifetime movie marathon was airing. In the shadows of the darkened room Willow would slowly drift in to a zombie state in which she'd eaten an entire bag of Cheetos.

Breaking from the past, the curtains were now spread open casting a warm light throughout the room. Willow was busy with mundane tasks, surprised to find pleasure in them. At the moment, she was overwhelmed with laundry and set an empty basket on top of the dryer to retrieve the freshly laundered clothing.

Until recently, she forgot about the effort involved in dressing for other people. Over time, sweatpants and an old t-shirt became standard uniform. In the last few weeks she rediscovered her favorite jeans, a pair of never-worn cargoes, and a sweatshirt from college. It felt good to dress up for the few social excursions on her calendar. She found that she cared more about how she looked in the in-between times as well.

Willow squatted in front of the dryer and tossed handfuls of whites carelessly above her head. After the contents were unloaded she stood up and pushed several stray socks back in to the basket. She quickly transferred the wet clothes to the dryer and reset the timer.

Good feelings were still plentiful and she decided to share them. She strode to her catch-all table and picked up her cell phone. A few piles were repositioned as she looked for the paired Bluetooth. She positioned it over her right ear and returned to the laundry while dialing. When it began to ring, she adjusted the earpiece slightly and slipped the phone in to her pocket.

A friendly voice greeted her on the other end, "Hello?"

"Hey, Buffy."

"Hey Wills. What's up?" There was a hint of suspicion in Buffy's voice.

Willow carried a laundry basket overflowing with clothes over to the couch and heaved it on to one side. She reached for a t-shirt that stretched across the top. She fidgeted with the sleeves before maneuvering the fabric in to a symmetrical rectangle. "Now why does anything have to be up?"

"Because in the last year you've called exactly twice. Once on my birthday and once to ask me a question about my tax return." Buffy's voice remained good-natured, but she wanted to make a point to the redhead.

"Not excusing my bad friend title, but you know why." Willow's earlier smile faded slightly and she glanced toward the door out of habit. Her attention returned to the laundry and she began pulling unmatched socks and making a pile of them on the table.

"Yeah, Willow. I do. And I don't blame you in the slightest, but you have got to see my side too. My best friend calls out of nowhere to chat? Kinda wakes my spidey-senses." Buffy walked around to sit on her couch and scooted backwards.

"I'm sorry, Buff." Willow sat down on the edge of the couch considering the feelings that Buffy just raised.

"I'm not asking you to be sorry. I'm just curious what's going on." Buffy was persistent at getting the answers she wanted. While Willow was an expert at dodging questions, eventually she always caved to Buffy. Always.

"I dunno. I just feel good." Her mind flashed to the friendly blonde she'd seen several times in the last week. Often thoughts of Tara came to her mind unbidden and left her feeling warm and relaxed.

"Mmm hmmm. Will?" Buffy drew out the name like a mother would do with a child. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Um...nothing?" She squeaked and batted her eyes innocently, as if Buffy could see through the phone.

Buffy sensed the grin on her friend's face. "Seriously, Willow. You're holding out on me." She pouted at the idea of her friend not sharing anything juicy. "Don't make me call in reinforcements."

Willow sighed, having enjoyed the teasing. She leaned back on the couch as reality settled back over their conversation. "Really, it's nothing. I uh...I met someone a couple weeks ago and..."

"WHAT?!?!" Buffy's voice was louder than she'd intended. Softer, she asked, "You met someone and you are just now calling me? We are going to seriously review the best friend code. I want details immediately. And if you leave anything out, I will be on the next plane. It won't be pretty." She'd been sitting on her couch and turned to stretch out, expecting a long and detailed story.

"It's not like that, Buffy. We're talking a friend-type of someone." She considered the statement. "An attractive friend, mind you, but a friend just the same."

Buffy couldn't help feeling like there was more than Willow was letting on. "O-kay. Well friends are good." Since moving across country, Willow never sought out new friendships which always concerned her. The redhead always blamed her schedule, lack of finesse and a variety of other things. Hearing that she'd at least made one new friend thrilled Buffy to no end. "So does this friend have a name?"

How can she make me blush when she's thousands of miles away? "Tara." The name rolled off her tongue like silk. She smiled and briefly thought of the blonde who was currently hard at work. "I don't know, Buffy. We just clicked. She's really easy to talk with." She giggled nervously.

"So tell me how you met." Buffy found herself smiling, knowing that on the other end of the phone Willow was likely fidgeting awkwardly. The woman could talk for hours about any subject, but bring up any kind of relationship and suddenly she struggled to complete sentences.

"Um..." Chuckling, "she delivered my Chinese food."

Grinning, "Well that one's new. Maybe I should start ordering in more." She teased.

"Buffy, the fact that you stay upright on what you eat now still amazes me. Don't make it worse." Willow couldn't remember the last time they'd spoken like this. Has it ever been like this since I moved out here? For the last year Willow existed as a shell of her former self. She rarely went out, spoke to few people outside of their close circle, and hadn't initiated conversations in a very long time.

"But you know I can't cook. Dawn tried to teach me again when she was home last and it just won't stick. Well the noodles stick, but I don't think they're supposed to stick?" Her face scrunched up as she pondered noodles.

"A little stick is okay. If it's a paste, not so much." She turned her nose up at the thought. Once, in college, Buffy attempted Macaroni and Cheese. By the time she was ready to serve, it was Macaroni Mush Ball. Willow gladly sprung for pizza that night.

Buffy giggled. "The way I figure it, cooking is overrated anyway. I mean there's plenty of other stuff that I'm good at."

"You shouldn't end a sentence with 'at', Buff." She rolled her eyes, knowing the blonde was zeroing in on her annoyance buttons.

"Damn English majors. Pushing aside my cooking and speaking skills for the moment...Tell me more about your new friend." Buffy relaxed, happy just to hear Willow's voice. This phone call was the closest she'd been to her old friend in some time. She only hoped that somehow the change would be permanent.

Willow began to recount how Tara came to be on her doorstep. Since their initial encounter they frequently talked a few times on the phone, took a walk, and met for lunch. Each time they got to know each other a little better. Though they'd only known each other a few weeks, Willow began missing Tara when they were separated and looked forward to their next meeting.

"That sounds great. So...." Buffy prompted.

"So what?" Willow's brow furrowed as she reviewed whether she'd left something out.

"So this girl is fun, smart, and actually understands your jokes?" Buffy loved Willow dearly, except when it came to the redhead and dating. Her self-deprecating nature kept her from pursuing anything romantic.

"Yeah. She's really cool." Willow agreed, completely missing Buffy's point.

"Okay, Willow. I'm not the mathematical genius of the group, but adding up what you've told me so far, why aren't we seeing the same result?"

Willow giggled at the math analogy. "Because you are including undefined variables. Right now I'm just one person enjoying another person's company...a girl type person with girl type parts...and..."

On the other end, Buffy rolled her eyes. ""You can't seriously tell me you're suddenly intimidated by girl bits. It just sounds like you really like her. Like maybe a little crush?" In high school, the thought of two girls together might have freaked her out a little. By the time they got to college, she figured a person should find happiness wherever they could. When they were sophomores, they once stayed up all night talking about girl crushes.

"I don't know, Buff. Maybe a non-sexual crush." Buffy's comments were causing her to reevaluate her feelings.

"Come again?" Willow was a master of introducing new concepts in to her world and sometimes Buffy was slow to catch their meanings.

"Well..." Willow considered how to explain it. "It's like you meet someone...male or female doesn't really matter. But you just really, really like that person and maybe there's some admiration throw in. You're sort of enamored of them, but the feelings aren't based in sexual attraction." She paused again, "Like that thing you had in high school for Oprah?"

"Whoa. I did not have a thing for Oprah. I just thought she was...you know, cool? And there was the whole book club and all the interesting people she met and the great things she did and..." The light bulb finally came on. "Ooohhhhhhhh. I get it. So you feel for Tara what I felt about Oprah?"

"Sort of. I just think she's really great and that's enough right now. I mean, I'm not intimidated by the girl parts. They just aren't my main focus right now." Willow twisted to lean against the arm of the couch and propped her feet against the laundry basket. She figured she could finish it up later.

"Mmm hmmm," Buffy didn't trust the artificial casualness that Willow attempted.

"Okay, so she definitely has girl parts. And from my very, very brief examination, they seem like nice ones. Beyond that...just friends." Willow found herself nodding along as she spoke.

"Got it. Friends." Whoever this person was, it was clear that she made Willow happy and happy Willow equaled happy Buffy.

"And not everyone has our views on relationships. I kinda get the impression she's involved with a guy at the restaurant. She acted a little funny when I brought it up so I can't be sure. Anyway, I'm really not ready to do anything with romantic-y type feelings in general so I'm sticking to the friend-type feelings. Is that okay?" she asked timidly.

Buffy smiled warmly and hoped it somehow transferred through the phone line. "Of course it's okay. I'm not trying to push you. I just...you deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, Buff." Willow felt warm inside. She knew one phone call didn't patch up a year of neglect but it was a step in the right direction. That compounded with the frequent good feelings since she met Tara left her more relaxed.

Buffy sensed that Willow exposed as much as she could for now. Recognizing the need for lighter topics, she prompted, "So are you still okay with hosting Dawn's graduation party?"

"Okay other than the fact that Dawnie is graduating from college which is just a teensy reminder that I'm old, I am totally cool with hostess duties." She nodded firmly.

"I owe you big time. How does she seem? Every time I ask, she gets all exasperated with me and tells me to stop acting like a mom." She chuckled as she thought about it.

"She's good. I think there's some nervousness, but she's ready to be finished." Willow paused thinking of the girl she'd come to see as a younger sister. "Compared to us, I think she's remarkably well-adjusted."

"Now that's scary."

"You're telling me." They both shared a laugh.

Buffy let the mirth hang for a moment. "I've missed you, Wills."

Willow's smile softened and became more thoughtful. "I missed you too. I know it's my..."

Before she could finish, Buffy interrupted. "Don't even start to blame yourself. I didn't say that to initiate a guilt trip. I just meant..." she hesitated, trying to find the right words. "It's nice to hear you laughing again."

The redhead nodded in agreement. "I don't think I realized..." The seriousness of the conversation was starting to weigh in on her and she had to take a deep breath to push the pressure away. "I've forgotten what it feels like to just feel, ya know?"

"I know." Buffy glanced over at the clock. Damn. "Look, I seriously hate having to do this, but if I don't hang up I'm going to be majorly late to work."

"Nah...I should get going too. Today became marathon laundry day and if I don't finish up it will totally take over the couch."

"Hey Willow? I'm glad you called." She paused, debating whether to say what was on her mind. "I'm glad to hear good things, but I know it might bring up some of the bad stuff too. Just...don't push us away and if you need to talk, any time, you call."

Willow didn't realize she was crying until a tear slipped from her cheek to the back of her hand. "I...thanks, Buffy."

"Oh and Will? Good luck with this mystery woman." She waggled her eyebrows knowing full well the redhead couldn't see her.

"Whatever crude gesture you're doing, just stop." She laughed. "Have fun at work. I'll email you to finalize the party details later this week."

"Night, Will." Buffy pressed the end button and tossed the phone on to the cushion beside her. She dropped her head back and released a heavy breath that had built for many months. She only hoped this would all have a happy ending.

When Tara walked in to her apartment late that night she was tempted to collapse on the couch. If not for her aching muscles and their cry for a hot shower, she would have done just that. She secured the lock and dropped her bag by the door. Now that she was home, the weight of her long day settled over her body and she leaned back against the door. Her eyes scanned over her apartment without settling on anything particular.

Tara's apartment was infinitely different than Willow's. It was considerably smaller and had only one bedroom. The size never seemed to bother her because she'd not gotten in the habit of collecting and filling bigger spaces. However, spending time at Willow's reminded her that a larger apartment did have advantages. Still, hers had warmth and life while the redhead's seemed cold and sterile.

As she got to know Willow more, Tara found it harder to understand how she could live in such a conservative living space, complete with muted colors and sharp lines. There should be fluffy throw pillows and warm colors and...and photos or art. Anything that would keep Tara from having to guess so much about Willow's life.

She sighed and pushed herself off the door. Her eyes locked on the refrigerator and she debated whether to eat something. She walked over and pulled it open. Her nose scrunched when she saw only a scattering of drinks and food. The door closed and she exited the kitchen.

Over the years Tara worked a collection of jobs to pay her bills. These days she worked as a waitress at a popular coffee house and diner downtown. Today she'd pulled a double shift which was good on her wallet, but lousy on her body. Fridays were usually popular which meant endless orders of coffee, sandwiches, and desserts to be delivered. Now her feet ached and she smelled like coffee and baked goods. She pealed off the offensive clothing and secured the items in her hamper.

Now naked, she made her way quickly to the bathroom in the dark. She couldn't help chuckling how it was possible to be self conscious about her body when she was alone in her apartment. Once inside the bathroom, she closed the door, less for privacy and more in hopes of creating a steam room to extract the perpetual smell of muffins from her hair.

The blonde leaned in to the bathtub and twisted the knobs to allow the water to run and warm up. She unhooked her towel from the back door and set it on the back of the toilet which sat next to the tub. When she saw the steam begin rising she pulled the lever that clicked on the shower. A satisfied groan escaped her lips when she stepped in and felt the hot water pelting her back. After pulling the curtain closed, she stood for several minutes letting the heat work magic on her body.

Her shampoo was lavender and oatmeal and it was a welcome change from the fruity smells of work. Why would someone want to smell like fruit? Although there were probably some instances when this was okay. Her mind flashed to Willow and her fiery hair that often smelled like mangoes and honey. God she smells amazing. She worked the lather in to her head and massaged her scalp roughly. She leaned back and the bubbles washed away and streamed down her body in soapy rivulets.

She reached forward for the bar of soap that sat in its dish, just out of reach of the shower spray. It was a spicy jasmine scent she'd picked up earlier in the week after watching Willow admire it in a shop. The redhead had quirked a curious eyebrow at her and she responded with a casual shrug. Secretly though, she thought it was a way to be close to Willow since she couldn't be close to Willow.

Her strong hands worked up a fresh lather and massaged it in to her sore shoulders and tired arms. They dragged over her collarbones and around the swell of her breasts. When her fingertips slid over her nipples, they grew taut and she gasped. A tickle of arousal ran through her body and she shivered. Recently she'd noted all of her senses heightened and her body hummed as if reborn.

Deciding that exhaustion would prevent a satisfying release, she continued with the intent to get clean and get out. If Willow had any idea what she does to me...I wonder if she thinks of me half as much as I think of her? The last thought troubled her slightly. It was not like her to crush on a straight girl. That was something a teenage Tara might have done, but not grown-up, happily single, not-really-looking Tara should be doing.

She reached down to flip off the water and pushed down the latch that drained the shower head. A blanket of steam swirled around her when she opened the curtain and reached for the towel. The soft terricloth soothed her skin. When she was dry, she stepped on to the shaggy blue rug and leaned over to wrap the towel around her hair.

Before she realized it, she was standing in front of the medicine cabinet staring in to the steamed mirror. With one hand, she reached out to wipe away the condensation and caught sight of herself. Skin rosy and flushed, eyes darkened and shimmering. The woman looking back at her was so...sensual. She shook herself from the reverie and finished her nighttime routine. When she was finished she returned the damp towel to the hook on the back of the door.

Cooler air assaulted her when she exited the bathroom. She hurried to her bedroom and pulled out boxers and a t-shirt, dressing quickly. The room was dark and comforting and she pulled back the covers and slipped beneath them. Again, she was hyper aware of everything touching her. The crisp cool sheets caused her to shiver and pull the comforter up around her neck.

She remembered the thunderstorm shared with Willow the previous week and how wonderful it would've been to be cocooned like she was now. Snuggled against the storm in fluffy blankets...and freckled arms. She rolled her eyes at her one-track mind of late. What exactly did I think about before I met Willow?

It was amazing that a person could so easily invade every one of her senses after such a short span of time. A crazy fluke brought her to Willow's door and now she couldn't imagine her life without the redhead in it. She toyed with the idea of calling to say goodnight but a double-dose of reality chased away that idea. It was well after midnight and friends did not call each other for late night wishes. Her eyes grew heavy and with pleasant thoughts of Willow, she fell in to a deep sleep.