Rising from the Wreckage

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, et al. No copyright infringement was intended.  The storyline, however, is the sole property of the author. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright notices.

Distribution: 

http://www.megawitches.net/Story/RoundRobin/mwrr.htm

http://mysticmuse.net

Feedback: Feedback welcome!

Grouping: Buffy/Willow/Tara

The entire procedure of removing Buffy's boots and shirt had gone by with an almost clinical procedure once they'd reached the Slayer's room and gotten the battered warrior to her bed. Tara had worked quickly to gather everything she needed, even remembering towels to save the comforter from another trip to the dry cleaners and another lame excuse about why it was covered in blood.

While the Wiccan moved around purposely Buffy had just laid there on her back concentrating on her breathing. The pain in her side wasn't pleasant by any means but she tried to concentrate on it and ignore the lingering arousing smell that Tara had left with her as they had shuffled through the hallway.

Opening her eyes again she was instantly blinded by the overhead light that seemed to slice through her throbbing head and she couldn't suppress the unhappy growl she gave as she reached her arm up to cover her eyes.

"Let me get that." Tara was laying out the medical supplies on the side table and noticed the move immediately. Her concern deepened but at the same time softened as with sure movements she moved back to her room and collected some candles. Her brain hummed with worry for the injured Slayer and she thought sadly of her precious dreams for their dinner that were now destroyed. Moving back to scatter the candles around the surfaces in Buffy's room she dimmed the light and with it changed the atmosphere completely as she lit the votives one by one.

"Is that better?" She urged Buffy to lower her arm with gentle hands.

The touch made Buffy breathe in sharply through her nose as warm fingers landed on her skin and her eyes opened to see the gentle dances of candle flames against the walls and ceiling. Above her to the right Tara hovered looking down at her, the candlelight dancing off the shiny lengths of her half braided hair and deep blue eyes. For a long moment the Slayer was perfectly mesmerized. She found herself studying the small light bursts that flashed with the flickering flames next to the dark widening pupils in Tara's eyes, traced over the shadowed curve of her facial features and with another breath drew in the sweet smell of the Wiccan who tended to her.

"It's great, thanks." She made herself turn away a bit trying to swallow down the growing concentration of desire in her body. She couldn't remember the last time someone had lit a room with candles for her. She couldn't remember when she had ever seen Tara look so beautiful and she most definitely couldn't remember the last time she had felt her body feeling so full of tingling want. Though as she had this thought her mind instantly snapped to remind her that Tara wasn't doing this as a pretense to romance or seduction.

'She's worried about your side, don't be crazy.' Buffy chastised internally as she tried to ignore the parts of her brain remembering the short searing kiss they had shared. She squeezed her eyes closed as she attempted to concentrate on anything but the warm feeling of Tara's soft hands as the blonde sat on the edge of the bed, the curve of her ass almost painfully pressed against Buffy's thigh as she balanced there.

For a moment the Slayer had reprieve as Tara massaged the antiseptic ointment into the split section of bruised skin on her side from the blunt weapon the vamp had used and the stinging pain took over her concentration. She played out the fight in her mind, thinking of each minor mistake she had made and adding mental notes to work on correcting them the next time she trained. She had to be at her best when this Beast thing made its move.

Tara found herself blinking a bit as she worked the ointment into the Slayer's wound. She tried to blame the added candles in the room but she feared the sudden heat she was feeling was being generated by her alone.

It was something she instantly felt guilty for as her role here was to tend to the Slayer's injuries and it wasn't something she wanted to take lightly. After all there shouldn't be anything intriguing about Buffy being hurt, but she had shamefully found herself studying the blonde warrior's body as she worked in the ointment. She'd been marveling at how the battered skin of her stomach and side was still soft even over the areas of visible scars, which just caused simple ridges in the lightly tanned flesh.

With a sinful inner smile she watched as through the white nylon lace covering Buffy's breasts harder points of arousal strained out against the tight material. As she watched the subtle changes in the Slayer's body a part of her mind argued that it would be impossible for her not to notice such things, it was what she was attuned to and more of an automatic reaction then anything so she didn't have to feel guilt.

"Did you get thrown into something?" Tara questioned with soft concern as she traced lines of scrapes down Buffy's stomach. Unable to see the end of them she took a deep breath and moved her fingers to the buttons on Buffy's jeans, trying to make this as normal and necessary a move as she could without giving away her own hidden thoughts.

"Th-rown into a t-ree." Buffy's voice staggered as her eyes shot open in response to the downward drift of Tara's hands. She pushed up on her elbows a bit completely shocked by the hard wave of arousal that spread down her thighs and curled up into her stomach making her feel almost like she was on a amusement ride stuck in a moment of full exhilaration.

"There's some little scrapes, can't hurt to put some antiseptic on them." Tara reassured not sure when her voice had taken on such a thick honey tone as she continued to undo the other three buttons and spread the thicker denim back from cotton of the Slayer's panties.

"Can't hurt." Buffy nodded breathing in through her nose as her body hadn't even registered the tiny injuries but did feel ever ridge on Tara's fingers as they traced over her skin carefully tending to the marks. Becoming more and more aware of her own body Buffy was shamefully relieved Tara hadn't asked to take the pants of completely because she was sure there was no way to hide the patch of wet cotton she felt pressing back against her skin.

"How does that feel?" Tara's voice broke the soft silence in the room as she finished and used the end of the towel to wipe any remnants of the ointment off her hands.

"Oh." Buffy felt an answer right away come to her lips, one that basically outlined that without Tara's hands on her body it felt like there was something missing but she soon cut herself off. "Stings." She purposely kept her words short.

"I'm sorry." Tara frowned slightly at the admission of pain, her hands moving to curl around Buffy's as she looked down obviously wishing she could take this and so much more from the blonde. She was pleased when her motion made Buffy settle back down against the pillows, and stroking her fingers over the lines on the Slayer's palm the reminders of her recent fight were obvious. "Let me get some hot water and a cloth, get some of this dirt off."

Buffy was about to object but she'd been so distracted by the small attention that by the time she got her lips moving Tara was off the bed and into the small bathroom with the water running.

In the short moments Buffy found her brain wracked by a thousand thoughts and desires, most of which revolved around her conversation with Giles earlier in the Magic Box. How could she dare come between Tara and Willow? How could she put herself first in this? Wasn't the whole point of all her recent soul searching and the lessons she'd learned from her tryst with Spike supposed to teach her that this lust inside her wasn't everything?

She kept her eyes closed even when Tara returned to her perch pressed against her thigh and began to tenderly wash her hands Buffy was suddenly faced with a bigger dilemma. Perhaps this wasn't lust? If it was just that, if it was just the need she felt to grab Tara right now and kiss her so hard that they both wouldn't be able to think clear enough to stop this, then wouldn't she have just done it already?

It had been so easy with Spike, to use someone, to just think of herself and not even consider anything else. She would have liked to defend her actions by saying he was just a chipped soulless vampire, but that if anything had given an excuse to the others and not to her. She had known exactly what she was doing to him and she knew it had just been about feeling something, anything, even if it was shameful lust.

"Tara…" Buffy opened her eyes when she felt the Wicca finished with her other hand and the soft edge of the cloth wiped down around her temple.

"It's okay, I want to do this." The blonde answered her voice a hushed soft tone as the Slayer's had been as she brushed the wet cloth down a smudged cheek. "To take care of you." She added not sure that either of them was ready for the true admission she had cryptically made.

"Have you ever heard of Socrates' three levels of love?" The Slayer licked her lips as she tried to find some consolidation in her own mind. The eyes looking down at Tara's hands, the hands that tended to her, they were working with something much bigger than just a feeling of concern or duty.

"Yes." Tara let the right side of her mouth pull into a slight smirk. "Eros, Philia and Agape. Lust, compassionate love and love of the soul." She summed up oversimplifying slightly as she put the cloth aside and took Buffy's hand in hers again.

"Do you think that they are can get mixed in together?" Buffy felt her hand move into Tara's lap and just the feel of the fabric of the Wiccan's skirt against her wrist made another wave of reaction roll down to tide between her legs.

"I think they aren't absolutes that should exist alone." Tara tilted her head a little a bit surprised that the reference was coming from Buffy, not that she considered the Slayer stupid by any means but she didn't take Buffy as being particularly interested in philosophy. With a smile she realized there was a lot about the Slayer she would be surprised to share and even more than that a lot of things about the Slayer, her thoughts and worries that she wanted to share. "I think they are best when they exist together. You need the passion of Eros to balance the commitment of Agape, just as you need the compassion that Philia gives to conquer things day to day. I think complete love is all three."

Tara studied the Slayer for a moment as her words hung then slowly faded from the air. She could see a struggle on Buffy's candlelit features and she knew instantly it had nothing to do with the pain in her side and everything to do with what had happened when they had kissed. Of course the Slayer was now feeling confused and overwhelmed, she had admitted that immediately and with all this time to think Tara was sure that confusion had only grown.

"Buffy, I know what happened…" Taking a slight breath Tara tied down all the feelings that were overwhelming her, knowing she had to do the right thing here and that meant giving Buffy whatever she needed to get through this. Her words however were cut off as Buffy leaned up and kissed her again suddenly. She hadn't really even seen the Slayer approaching as she had been so busy worrying about what to say.

For Buffy at that moment all of her questions were answered as her lips pressed against the Wiccan's warmer ones. She could feel the electricity of the contact and she was glad she was sitting down or she was sure her weak knees would have given out again. Purposely not letting the kiss linger or deepen Buffy pulled her face back a few inches.

"I know I love Willow and I love you, and I know I would do anything to keep you both safe and happy." Buffy whispered shifting her hand out of Tara's so that her palm pressed flat to cup around the blonde's thigh. "What scares me is that I feel other things too and any time I've acted on those feeling things get so messed up. Messed up in a way that I never want to have happened so that it can ruin anything between you and Willow."

"That's where things go wrong." Tara felt her body shiver as the Slayer's hand cupped around her leg. "If it's just Eros then everything is lust without real love, once the lust is gone or it dims there is nothing left to hold everyone together." She relied on the discussion they were having as her head swam from the short kiss. Downstairs when she'd been making dinner she knew she had thought about this, she knew there would be repercussions but here in this moment she wasn't sure if she wanted to be strong enough to stop the gravitation pull between them.

For a moment her mind thought of Willow and worried. Would the redhead be able to understand what this was? Understand how any of this was happening in part because of the unconditional and profound love they both held for her? Understand how it wasn't happening to exclude her or to get on without her, but as a way to struggle through the absence she had caused and even grander than that to create a solid place for her to come back to? Understand that it wasn't about just about desire, but about love.

"Tara, I'm going to say this in the most controlled way I can." Buffy swallowed her hand flexing around Tara's leg. "Because between the pain, the post slayage build up and the fact that right now you are probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, smelled or touched I'm not exactly sure how long I'm going to be able to stick to Philia and not just dive into Eros." She licked her lips again feeling most of the pain melt away as her body became completely tuned with anticipation.

For a moment Tara couldn't say or do anything, the pure power in the Slayer's plea had taken all response from her. Looking into hazel eyes she saw the veils of strength and honor pulled back to show Buffy as she really was, vulnerable as they all were with wants and needs that didn't always translate properly with her duty. This was just Buffy pleading to express the emotions she had been forced to work so hard to keep hidden and secret. This was Buffy in her own strong way admitting that this was bigger than her too and despite that she was struggling as hard as Tara to 'do the right thing' in the name of real love and not just passion.

"I'm sorry." Buffy shook her head a bit hearing the pressure in her own words and looked down at the bed when Tara didn't so much as blink. "That wasn't fair of me, I'm not going to do anything you don't…" She tried to explain herself fearing she had frightened the timid Wiccan. The fact confirmed to her as she thought of the violence she had experienced with Spike though those moments made her sick now as she looked down at Tara's soft alabaster hands.

"I know what it's like to be afraid Buffy." Tara finally shook her head and moved her hands to cup around the Slayer's cheeks as she guided her head up so their eyes met. "You don't scare me, your passion doesn't scare me."

With those words she pressed her lips forward, skipping over anything tentative or hesitant as her open lips met with Buffy's and she began actively moving her mouth over the Slayer's decisively. Her first task seemed to be to suck the horrible idea that Buffy could scare her right off the Slayer's lips. She didn't want Buffy to ever think that she could be afraid of her, especially not for basically saying I find you so attractive and wonderful that if you don't leave the room I'm going to kiss you and more.

She felt for the first few moments that Buffy was sitting there in shock just being kissed, but the change was quick when strong arms came around her body and pulled her closer as the Slayer began kissing her back. Almost desperately they pressed together, warm lips giving way to a hot dance of tongues as they created a connection between their two bodies echoed with growing pants for air.

Before Tara really knew what was happening she was pulled down on top of the other blonde's smaller body completely. Still thinking with some small part of her brain she moved so that she could brace most of her weight on her knees as she straddled one of Buffy's legs and trying not to aggravate the Slayer's injury. The way they settled together was so easy as Buffy's hands moved down to untangle the prison her skirt had become and allow her to press her own thigh up higher against Tara's body.

If the Wiccan had expected any hesitation or question in the Slayer she got the exact opposite, Buffy felt her mind clear of any worries as she ran her hands up with the skirt to skim over silky thighs. Her hands were still busy exploring the soft skin when Tara broke nearly gasping for breath out of the kiss and dipping her head down was easily able to find the exact place to close her lips over the silky material of Buffy's bra. Almost instantly the feel of her wet lips and nibbling teeth caused a deep moan to slip out of Buffy as her hands gripped and flexed against Tara's thighs.

For the moment the Slayer's bravado was sidetracked as Tara lips stayed busy teasing one nipple while her hands went to undo the now unnecessary bra. Buffy felt her hips arching up with each flick of the blonde's tongue when the material fell away and in turn she felt Tara's hips press down over her leg as their bodies rocked together.

For Tara the world had become an instinct that she hadn't given freedom too in a long while. To do as she pleased, letting her actions and reactions be guided by feel and taste rather than thought. This was far different that anything she had ever experienced with Willow, not that it was better than being with her redheaded lover she briefly confided in herself, but only that it was spiced with a different passion and expression that indeed could only belong to the Slayer.

Reaching one hand under, she cupped the Slayer's breast drawing more than the nipple up between her lips as she sucked harder, her tongue twirling within. She could feel Buffy's hips pressing against her in almost the same rhythm, screaming to give evidence as to just how aroused the Slayer was. She could feel the wet heat that poured out of the thick denim onto the leg that she now had pressed into the apex of Buffy's hips for friction. Just as she was sure her own thin panties couldn't be managing much defense against her own arousal as she ground against Buffy's leg with an almost desperate need.

Buffy felt a strange whimper cross her throat as the blonde switched breasts, the trails of soft blonde hair that sprayed out over her stomach and sides tickled enough to turn her on just that little bit more.

"God Tara." Buffy groaned as again she felt her body surprised as it got exactly what it wanted. Her words were timed as one of Tara's hands slid down into the Slayer's already open jeans.

Caressing around the small wet triangle of cotton in a quick move, Tara easily curled her fingers into the awaiting pool of wetness. Knowing this moment had built up enough she slipped her fingers down low, circling around swelled inner lips before she curled all her fingers up beginning to rub up and down the Slayer's full wet length with the ridges of her knuckles.

Buffy looked down again, her vision clouded with pleasure as Tara released her breast and meshed their lips again. While Tara controlled the pace of the Slayer's hips and the temptation in the kiss, Buffy concentrated running one hand up the inside of Tara's thigh to find where her own wet pants met with the blonde's body.

So caught up in what she was feeling as she touched the Slayer, Tara didn't catch up with the movement of Buffy's hand until strong fingers had pushed her panties aside and pressed in to rub gently over her throbbing center. She could tell by the gentle touch that the Slayer knew what she wanted to do but was almost scared to do something wrong. That tenderness from one that so many assumed was just an enraged warrior coursed more pleasure into Tara's already overwhelmed body.

"Oh Buffy!" Tara was forced to break the kiss as she leaned heavier over the Slayer, her mouth tucked by the other blonde's ear as the rocked together faster in a hard quick pace.

Buffy knew she probably should have said something, but more impassioned grunts and moans won out as the soft sound of Tara's own inhibited passion echoed in her ear in time to the spasms that was beginning in her own body. She could feel her hips flatten and slow in their movement but in perfect response Tara only added a little pressure to her movement giving the bit more that Buffy needed to sail over the edge into her hard building release.

Hearing Buffy suddenly scream out her name, a tone of worry edging into the Slayer's fast release made Tara bite down her own almost flared orgasm as she tucked her other arm trying to hug the Slayer to her body.

"I'm here. I have you." Tara reassured her with soft whispers and gentle kisses to Buffy's throat as their bodies rocked together. "Oh Goddess Buffy I'm right there with you." Another flare of the Slayer's hips made it impossible for Tara to hold back any longer, though her release formed as a series of more jagged movements as Buffy's hand was locked in place between them.

"Yes, yes, yes." Buffy panted back as things cleared a bit and settled enough for her to feel both what was happening to her and what was happening in her lover.

Things returned again to silent light moans and whimpers as they collapsed together and withdrawing her hand Tara hugged tightly onto Buffy her eyes squeezed shut. Reluctantly drawing her hand back the Slayer closed her arms around Tara's body, trying to find some way to deal with the flush of emotions and pleasure that was coursing through her body.

Closing her eyes too Buffy felt a new wave of resolve settle into her. This Beast, whatever it was, she was going to beat it. She was going to beat it and she was going to get Willow back to Sunnydale so that the redhead would know no matter how far she had sunk in all this black magic there were two people who loved her, loved her so much. These two things she vowed silently to herself and to Tara as for along time they laid there coupled together.

"We have to get her back." Tara's whisper broke into Buffy's thoughts, the stress she put onto 'we' proving to the Slayer that the blonde was having almost the exact same thoughts.

"We do." Buffy hugged Tara a bit tighter until she felt the blonde move to sit up a bit.

"This seems somewhat backwards now but I was making you a special dinner." Tara blushed lightly as her mouth curled into a smirk.

"I'm definitely hungry." Buffy commented as almost on cue her stomach growled and she went bright red. "I don't mean that the way it sounded, I meant…" She began to backtrack worried she had made the wonderful moment that was happening between them cheap.

"I'm hungry too." Tara smiled brighter and leaned to kiss the Slayer on the cheek. She fast believed that there was nothing cuter that Buffy trying to tip toe around saying the right thing. "Why don't you get changed…" She grinned at the Slayer's state of undress. "And I'll go toss the salad."

"Sounds like a perfect evening." Buffy smiled realizing that Tara understood exactly what she was saying and that for the moment at least awkwardness wasn't part of this equation.

Continued in Chapter 17...

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