I Didn't Think It Would Happen Like This

[Tree]

/ Oh, so worth it. /

He shared with a large grin now

[Sushi]

Willow hummed softly.

/Definitely./

The woman giggled after a minute.

/It's so much easier to breathe without my heart freaking out./

She had been surprised by how much that affected her stamina.

[Tree]

Ansel smirked, pulling her to him to steal that preciously win breath with a kiss... or three.

/I should have stolen your heart sooner is what I'm hearing. /

[Sushi]

Willow groaned. If his breathing had felt like too much, then kissing made her dizzy.

/Now is good,/ she argued with a heady contentedness.

[Tree]

/Mmmm, I feel like I have lost time to make up for./

Ok, he was a guy and this was delicious to him. But he also was kinda exhausted from the experience, so she only had to worry about kisses and teasing for now.

[Sushi]

/you are the worst,/ she told him petulantly.

Because she wanted more now but she was too drained for that and so this was all his fault and she was mad at him for it. Big ol dummy head teasing her with things she couldn't have.

[Tree]

/ Nonsense. Only the best could stir you up again so thoroughly after depleting you so efficiently. /

[Sushi]

Willow poked him in the ribs.

/Meanie./

Yes, she was now resorting to name-calling.

[Tree]

Ansel chuckled.

/ Don't worry, my love. I'll more than happily delight you again, very soon. /

After all, just because he wasn't up didn't mean he couldn't please.

[Sushi]

/I'll remember this,/ she warned him before tucking her head against him with a yawn.

[Tree]

/ Don't worry, I'm glad to please. /

He reassured, kissing at her adoringly.

[Sushi]

/so you say./

Willow huffed at him, but that was the extent of his chiding. However, she didn't let him have a whole nap. In fact, it was apparent she'd been awake for a little while by the time she decided he'd had enough sleep. She sat on top of him and poked him between the eyes with one of the pretzels she was munching before popping it into her mouth.

"Psst."

[Tree]

Ansel 'mmh?'ed her without opening his eyes, hands wondering from covers to hold her hips.

/ You're surprisingly awake. /

[Sushi]

"I got tired of waiting."

Willow shoved the last pretzel in her mouth and tossed the empty bag to the nightstand.

"But now you're awake too, which means we can get to that orgasm you promised me."

Yup, she woke him up specifically to stay in bed. This might have been the most demanding she'd ever been in their entire relationship, excepting perhaps the beast. She leaned down and covered his face in kisses.

"Pleeease?" She crooned sweetly.

"I'll let you have whatever you want."

[Tree]

Ansel laughed, rolling her under him smoothly, kissing at her as he ran his hands along her body.

"As you wish. "

He couldn't have his wife wanting and not deliver?

[Sushi]

Willow sprawled on the bed afterwards, rubbing her tummy and smiling to herself with contended glee. Pretzels and sex and naps and delicious wine and everything else that left her feeling warm and sated.

"Today is a good day."

She had decided.

[Tree]

Ansel smiled, kissing across her stomach.

"Indeed. Any day I get to eat you is a fabulous day. "

[Sushi]

Willow reached down and ruffled his hair with both hands. After a second, though, she softened and it turned to affectionate petting.

"Something bad is probably about to happen that will ruin it, though," she confided quietly.

That anxiety had been growing slowly since last night. It was getting hard for her to ignore.

[Tree]

"Perhaps.... perhaps not? "

He ventured, nuzzling into her hair.

"There's a very real chance that things will be fine, you know. Like, something bumpy is inevitable, eventually.... but I think I'm not gonna let someday ruin right now. "

[Sushi]

"I hope that 'chance' is what you experience as reality."

But she was completely incapable of hope. She knew good things never lasted.

Willow watched him move up to her level, the return to something more normal not really helping the sense that the tiny bit of good was slipping away. She suddenly remembered the flight back from their honeymoon, and that same feeling washed over her - the knowledge of everything going back to normal and the miserable reality of what that meant. Knowing what was coming meant that she could avoid it, though, especially since the circumstances were a little different now.

She remembered the crash that had led to this, figuring that was likely what she'd be going back to. She found comfort in knowing that she hadn't indulged in reckless happiness in her time with him here, at least. The fall wouldn't hurt so bad.

"I should probably shower."

[Tree]

".... you know we're together for the long haul. Right? "

He asked gently, watching her, pulling her to kiss him.

[Sushi]

Willow nodded.

"Together, yes."

She tried to let that make her feel better. She did like that she didn't have to be alone. But she struggled with imagining the shapes she have to fit herself into again.

"The only question is what you'll do with me now that you have me."

Even though she spoke offhandedly, that was the biggest of the scary things reaching from under the bed to scrabble at her ankles.

[Tree]

Ansel looked at her, soft as he squeezed her close.

"Love you. Forever. "

[Sushi]

Willow felt the softness, and after a moment decided that she could maybe at least hold onto that. She didn't have to do all of the hard and overwhelming things just yet. It seemed like he was going to let her have five more minutes, so she amended her previous plan.

"You could shower with me?"

[Tree]

Ansel couldn't help but smile at her.

"I'm not sure how clean we'll get showering together. "

But she had already offered and he was not gonna second guess that choice. He'd already whisked her away to the bathroom.

[Sushi]

"it's never been a problem before?"

He'd never seemed even tempted to her during the other times since they'd started doing this. She liked the different type of closeness from it, either way.

[Tree]

Ansel glanced over his wife.

/I also haven't had the absolute delight of feeling his the water feels going over every bit of your delicate, enticing body. /

He shared, stealing a kiss before getting the shower going

[Sushi]

Willow blushed. After they got in, she curled her arms around him, kissing between his shoulder blades.

/It feels like this has fixed something inside me,/ she told him quietly.

/Feeling how much you're attracted to me.../

She pressed her cheek to his back as the water started to soak her hair and run down her spine.

/I didn't realize I was still so broken there./

The disgust she'd learned for her body after having Aisling had left scars. She had never quite been able to wholly believe that anyone could be attracted to her, no matter what he'd said. There had still been part of her that believed he only ever wanted her because she was convenient. However, after only a single day, she found that those feelings were gone.

/I feel a little less undesirable./

It was a relatively small fix, especially given her warped relationship with body and intimacy, but it was something.

[Tree]

/ Willow.....If I was not afraid of myself, I would want you every single day. /

Sometimes all day, days on end, even. He was trying to behave, but his thoughts were occasionally too honest. He reached to place a hand over both of hers, smiling a bit.

/ You are so lovely, Willow..... can you not see how breathtaking I see you? /

He asked her tenderly, wishing with all his being that she understood he saw nothing but someone he loved, adored, and would eagerly ravish endlessly.

[Sushi]

Willow smiled a little.

/I think I have a better grasp of it now./

She squeezed his middle gently as the water dripped down her forehead now.

/How I feel is very rarely just because of you, though,/ she ventured slowly.

/I know you said you didn't like how I feel about myself, but that's not because you're trying to blame yourself for it, is it? Because that's not it at all. You just... You picked the ugliest duckling of them all./

[Tree]

/ You're anything but ugly, my love. /

He whispered to her, turning to kiss her and pull her into his chest.

/I do blame myself some. /

He whispered softly, guilt tugging at him.

[Sushi]

Willow slid her arms around his waist again, shaking her head.

/It's bigger than any one person. I have always been hideous by comparison. Humans, elves, vampires - I don't measure up to any of those standards, which is fine. It doesn't really bother me./

Her brows drew together in consternation.

/I think... I think the problem is that somewhere along the line I realized there would never be a time or place where I could outgrow being the ugly duckling./

She smiled a little then and bobbed to give him a kiss of her own.

/But apparently I'm a swan to you. That makes me happy./

[Tree]

/ My love..... you're so much more stunning than a swan. You outshine all the stars of the sky. /

He shared with a turn to lean down and kiss her.

[Sushi]

/that's not true. You don't have to push it to extremes for me to be happy./

Smiling slightly, Willow stepped away finally, letting the water coat her properly.

[Tree]

"That's a fun experience. "

He noted at how the water felt between them, stealing a couple more kisses.

"I love you. "

[Sushi]

"I love you too."

Willow closed her eyes and massaged shampoo into her hair. It had ended up kind of scraggly by the end of her recovery, just barely brushing her shoulders.

"What? The water?"

[Tree]

"Like, the feeling of both of us. Together? I'm digging it."

[Sushi]

Willow smiled a little.

"Me too," she agreed.

"...even if it's still strange how soft I feel to you."

[Tree]

"It's weird for a few things. But I -love- it. It feels right."

He shifted to actually focus on washing.

[Sushi]

"I hope it doesn't fade and stop mattering," she murmured more to herself than anything else.

Willow watched him as she rinsed her hair. Though you couldn't tell from the outside, Ansel had an inside line to know that she must have had at least one dirty thought related to what she saw.