Disclaimer:  I just borrow the characters to play with and then return them mostly unharmed, all hail Joss & Co. that do own them. 

Feedback:  Yes, please! 

Rating:  Rated E for Everyone!  *grumbles to self*  ‘What the Hell’s up with that?!’  *shakes head and moves on* 

Pairing:  Buffy/Tara 

Summary:  Minion blew the dust off her own computer and conjured up a muse so she could nail her ass to the wall for a few hours before she could escape… now we can ring in the New Year! 

Closing and locking the door behind them, Buffy went to put her weapons in the weapons trunk while Tara left her weapons of choice on the dining room table before heading for the kitchen. 

“Want something to drink?”  Tara called back from the kitchen. 

“Water, please.”  Buffy shut the lid of the trunk and headed back to the entryway to remove and hang her jacket, turning of the living room light as she went.  “Thanks.”  She accepted the bottle of water from Tara as they both headed for the stairs. 

“Flip you for the shower.”  Tara grabbed her gear of the table, and then led them up the stairs.  It was a long and busy night of patrolling, and shower wouldn’t go amiss for either one of them. 

“Tails, you win, you can go first.”  Buffy had something else on her mind, and a little research was necessary. 

Tara looked over her shoulder, brow raised at the quick acquiescence of the Slayer as she continued up the stairs. 

Buffy shrugged.  “I figure you’d just mojo the coin in the air anyway, so I saved us the time arguing you cheating.” 

Tara chuckled softly.  “I wouldn’t cheat.” 

Buffy snorted softly.  “Not that you’d admit to, anyway.” 

Tara reached back to lightly slap her on the shoulder as she laughed again.  “I’d never.” 

“I know you’d never admit to it, hence the saving the argument.”  Buffy winked at her and shied away from another smack. 

“Just for that, I’m not saving you any hot water.”  Tara chuckled and hurried up the last couple of steps and into her room. 

Buffy chuckled softly knowing it was a false threat, heading for her own room to get out her sleepwear when she got to the top of the stairs. 

Tara was just entering the bathroom when Buffy stepped back into the hall and called her name.  She leaned back into the hall with a raised brow. 

“Can I use your laptop while you’re in the shower?”  Buffy cracked open her bottle of water and drank as she continued toward the Wiccan. 

“Of course, you know you don’t have to ask.”  Tara winked at her and ducked back into the bathroom, calling out after safely behind the closed door.  “Just don’t bookmark any porn sites while using my name!” 

Buffy snorted softly and smacked the closed door on her way by.  “I should, just for spite!”  She spoke loud enough for Tara to hear her, smiling as she heard Tara laugh. 

~HLM~

Tara tossed her clothes in the hamper when she entered her bedroom, then started towel drying her hair.  “Shower’s all yours, Sweetie.” 

“’K.”  Buffy mumbled softly as she continued to stare at the laptop screen, nervous about what she was about to do.  Tara’s timing of coming out of the shower now was hopefully a good omen. 

A couple minutes later, Tara stepped behind the Slayer to see what she was looking at as she brushing out her still wet hair.  Brows furrowing as she saw a color coded map of the world on the screen.  “Whatcha doing?”  Tossing her brush on the bed, she bent down behind the Slayer, resting her hands and chin on her shoulder.

“Just checking on something.”  Buffy used the wireless mouse to click on the clock in the corner of the screen. 

Tara frowned but remained quiet as she watched to see what the Slayer was doing.  Raising a brow a moment later when Buffy brought up the time zone setting for the clock.  She turned her head to look at Buffy when she clicked on ‘Samoa’ and hit apply, making the clock change from 1:55 AM to 11:55 PM. 

Buffy finished with the settings and left the clock on the screen.  Swallowing and licking her lips nervously before she turned her head to be almost nose to nose with the Wiccan.  “Tomorrow night, well, tonight… umm… later tonight after it’s actually daylight, that is.”  Buffy sighed and closed her eyes as she shook her head before trying again.  

Tara smiled and took pity on the Slayer.  “I get it, basically tomorrow night but today, go on.” 

Buffy nodded and opened her eyes, swallowing and licking her lips again as she nervously looked into blue eyes.  “Right, anyway… it’ll be New Year’s Eve, but I figure we’ll be out doing patrol, even if we hit the sewers to take out some of the vamps during the day tomorrow.”  She frowned, back at the today/tomorrow dilemma again. 

Tara chuckled softly.  “I’m still with you, go on.” 

Buffy swallowed again.  “Well, you know how they show celebrations of the different continents as it gets to be midnight their time as everyone in Times Square is waiting for the ball to drop?” 

Tara smiled and nodded, getting an inkling of where the Slayer was going with this.  She’d been trying to think of a way of bringing something like this up herself, as things had been changing between them for the past few months, though, neither of them making a move as yet. 

“Well…”  Buffy turned and looked at the clock, too nervous to look Tara in the eye as she finished her spiel.  “I figured if we’re going to be fighting the bad guys to keep the people of Sunnydale safe while they partied… we might miss…”  She nervously played with the mouse as she watched the clock change to 11:59 PM.  “Well, I thought… maybe… we could ring in the New Year… with the first place that does… and it just so happens to be… now…”  She trailed off and swallowed hard again, feeling her pulse pound in her ears and her body seem to heat up with nerves having finally got the suggestion out. 

Tara smiled, completely charmed by the nervous Slayer, who refused to look at her while she spoke.  Tara looked back to see the seconds ticking down to midnight on the clock.  Chuckling softly she reached to nudge the Slayer’s chin as she started counting down softly.  “Five, four, three…” 

Buffy swallowed and licked her lips again as she allowed Tara to turn her head.  Meeting twinkling blue eyes, she let out a relieved sigh thru her nose as Tara brought their lips together as she finished the countdown.  

“Two, one…  Happy New Year.”  Tara mumbled and pressed her lips to Buffy’s as she kissed her for the first time. 

It was just a soft press of lips, but it was glorious after having waited for so long to finally kiss the Wiccan.  Buffy sighed again when the kiss ended.  Slowly opening her eyes to look into smiling and twinkling blue, she smiled before her eyes dropped to Tara’s softly smiling lips.  Not able to resist, she turned slightly in the chair before leaning in for another kiss. 

Tara smiled into the kiss, and the next one, and the next.  Sometime in the many gentle kisses they shared she maneuvered around to sit on the Slayer’s lap, wrapping her arms loosely around Buffy’s shoulders without missing a beat. 

Buffy whimpered softly when she realized Tara wasn’t bringing her lips back against her own again when she felt the Wiccan’s forehead press against hers. 

Tara smiled and kissed the Slayer’s nose as she pulled her head back, waiting for a pouting Buffy to open her eyes. 

Buffy tightened her arms around the Wiccan as Tara pulled her head away, finally opening her eyes a few moments later to see a smiling Wiccan watching her. 

Placing a quick kiss on the pouting lip, Tara turned to look over her shoulder to the laptop.  “So… who’s the next country to coming up on midnight?”  She smiled and chuckled softly as Buffy quickly leaned to look around her and reached for the mouse. 

“That would be…”  Buffy quickly switched screens to look at the time zone map again.  “Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand…”  She mumbled as she checked out the next closest countries, accidently clicking on that section of the map.  “Oh, hey, look!”  She grinned as the map changed to a close up of where she’d inadvertently clicked.  “There’s one of those oddball times in New Zealand, Chatham Island.  They’re fifteen minutes behind the last one!”  She grinned as she looked at the clock in the corner of the screen that still had the Samoa time that now said 12:14 AM.  She quickly clicked to bring the clock back to the top screen so they could watch the bigger clock with the second hand.  “Seven, six…” 

Tara chuckled softly and turned back to a grinning and still counting down Buffy.  “Good timing.” 

Buffy nodded as she continued the countdown.  “Five, four, three, two…”  She grinned wider as Tara leaned in.  “One… Happy New Year!” 

Tara smiled as Buffy chuckled as she pressed her lips to the Slayer’s, barely letting finish saying year. 

Buffy whimpered again when Tara finally pulled away, ending this round of kisses.  They still hadn’t done anything but soft, gentle kissing, but she definitely wasn’t going to complain about that fact.  She just wished they didn’t have to keep stopping. 

Tara chuckled softly at the whimper, gently scratching the back of the Slayer’s neck.  “You need to go jump in the shower.”  She leaned in to kiss the latest pout that formed with that statement.  “Then we can continue this in comfort.”  She winked at the Slayer when Buffy quickly opened her eyes. 

“Yeah?”  Buffy started grinning. 

Tara nodded as leaned in to place a quick kiss on the tip of the Slayer’s nose.  “And while you’re doing that, I’ll scroll thru the map and see if I can find more of those oddball times, so we don’t miss out on any midnight opportunities.” 

“Yes!”  Buffy leaned in and quickly gave the Wiccan a couple firm kisses in delight before nudging her off her lap. 

Tara laughed as she got off the Slayer’s lap and watched her practically run to her own room to retrieve her clothes, shaking her head as she sat down at the desk while watching the wildly grinning Slayer as she reappeared and hurried for the bathroom.  “We can make up for any that we miss while you’re in there.” 

Buffy stopped as she and leaned her head back out of the bathroom before she shut the door.  “Good, but I’m still gonna be quick about this.”  She laughed as Tara rolled her eyes at her. 

“Just make sure you rinse all the soap and shampoo off.”  Tara laughed and shook her head again as she ran her hands thru her own still slightly damp hair. 

“Yes, Ma’am!”  Buffy chuckled as she practically ripped her clothes off in her hurry to get clean and back to Tara. 

Reaching for a notebook and pen, Tara readied for search as a grin appeared on her face.  ‘This is going to be a very, very happy new year indeed.’  She chuckled softly as she set to her task. 

~HLM~

Buffy wrapped her arms around Tara’s neck from behind as she kissed the top of the Wiccan’s head when came back into the bedroom.  “Did I miss any?” 

Tara chuckled softly when she felt water dripping on her, and tilted her head back to look up at the grinning Slayer.  “No, but perhaps I should have reminded you to dry off, too.” 

Buffy laughed as she leaned down to kiss the Wiccan’s forehead.  “Oops.”  Then she looked around for the towel Tara had been using to dry her hair earlier.  Spotting it, she released the Wiccan with another kiss to her forehead before retrieving it. 

Tara went back to work on her list as the Slayer toweled her hair.  Quickly finishing with the map, Tara started shutting down the laptop after correcting the clock back to their time zone.  While waiting for the computer to shut down, she quickly converted all the times she’d written beside the different countries she had listed. 

Buffy smiled as she heard Tara rip the page out of the notebook, watching as she closed the lid on the laptop as she stood.   She blindly set the brush she’d borrowed on the dresser behind her before moving to meet the Wiccan on the other side of the bed.  She’d stayed away from the Wiccan while she’d worked on the list, afraid of being tempted if she were close to her. 

Tara handed Buffy the list, smiling as the Slayer’s eyes opened wide at the amount of different times they’d get to share midnights across the globe.  She’d been surprised herself when she had to use both sides of the page to list them all.  “We’ll have to toss in a few extras, because I know I didn’t get all of the oddballs.”  She shrugged when Buffy looked up at her from the list.  “I didn’t get to click on each section of the map to be precise, so I know I missed some.  I think there’s at least one oddball in Canada that I didn’t list.”  She shrugged again. 

Buffy nodded before smiling.  “Extras are good.”  She looked back down at the list before looking over at the clock on the nightstand.  “Oh, hey, look...” 

Tara chuckled and wrapped her arms around Buffy, meeting the Slayer’s lips as Buffy turned back to her and wrapped her arms around her neck.  When they ended the kiss, Tara tossed another thought out there for the Slayer.  “Maybe we can do a few ahead of time, so we don’t miss out while we sleep?” 

Buffy tried to keep the frown off her face, turning her head to the side and bringing her hand down and out to look at the list as she nodded. 

Tara kissed Buffy’s temple and then laid her head on her shoulder, she’d seen the look of disappointment in the Slayer’s eyes before she looked away.  “Unlike someone I know, I need a solid block of sleep if I want to be fully functional when we hit the sewers in the daylight.”  She kissed the Slayer’s neck and chuckled softly.  “So, rather than setting the alarm clock to keep going off all night long, which I’m sure the energizer bunny that you are would more than happy to do… I’m hoping that said bunny would maybe agree to hold each other while we slept?”  She kissed her neck again before lifting her head and kissing her temple as she waited for Buffy’s answer. 

A smile slowly came to Buffy’s lips as she wrapped her arm around Tara again, the smile back in her eyes as she turned back to see a brow raised Tara, she nodded.  “I think that would be amenable to said bunny.”  She winked at the Wiccan as she leaned up the slight distance to kiss her softly. 

Tara chuckled into the kiss, and then she groaned a moment later when she had to pull away as a yawn snuck up on her.  “Sorry.”  She buried her face in Buffy’s neck, pulling her red-faced head back a moment later with a wide-eyed look on her face.  “That wasn’t a commentary on your kissing skills.”  She smiled when Buffy laughed softly and shook her head. 

“Glad to hear it.”  Buffy chuckled and kissed her chin.  It’s been a long day.  Why don’t you crawl into bed, and I’ll be right back.” 

Tara raised a brow, but nodded. 

“I need to shut the light off in my room… and I forgot to brush my teeth earlier in my rush.”  She smiled with her own embarrassment as she released the Wiccan and set the list on the nightstand when Tara chuckled. 

Tara kissed the Slayer’s temple and gave her a gentle squeeze before she took a step back from her. 

Buffy leaned in for a quick kiss before she stepped away.  “Be right back.”  She stopped before she made it to the door and turned back with furrowed brows.  “Or would you rather come to my room.” 

Tara frowned for a moment, before smiling and shaking her head as she walked to where the Slayer had stopped.  “I’ve lain to rest my demons here, unless you’d be more comfortable in your room?”  She raised a brow in question. 

“Here is fine.”  Buffy shook her head and smiled. 

“Hurry back.”  Tara leaned in for a soft kiss, winking as she pulled back. 

“Yes, Ma’am.”  Buffy grinned and left the room. 

~HLM~

Buffy smiled as she reentered Tara’s room, the Wiccan having shut off the overhead light leaving just the lamp on the nightstand on and a deep candle burning with a soft glow atop the dresser. 

Tara held up the covers for Buffy, raising a brow when the Slayer held up a finger and looked to the desk. 

Buffy moved to the desk and grabbed the pen Tara had left on top of the notebook before walking to the bed.  “So we can check off where we left off.” 

Tara chuckled softly as she watched the Slayer pick up the list and look at the clock. 

Buffy frowned when she realized they’d missed a midnight while she was gone and put a check mark beside it, laid the list and pen down on the nightstand, and turned off the lamp.  “We have one to make up for now, and then we can use up a couple of the extras until you fall asleep.”  She finished what she was saying as she got comfortable and opened her arms to the Wiccan. 

Tara smiled and snuggled up to the Slayer with another yawn.  “That’ll work, because I’m not sure how long I’ll last.”  She chuckled softly as she laid an arm across Buffy’s waist, gently squeezing her side. 

“That’s okay, just means we have more to make up for in the morning.”  Buffy rolled a bit to her side, the adjustment bringing them more face to face. 

Tara smiled and leaned in for kiss.  “That works for me.”  She lasted all of ten minutes before she had to pull away with another yawn. 

Buffy chuckled and pulled Tara closer as she rolled to her back, rubbing a hand up and down her back as the Wiccan laid her head on her shoulder with a soft whimper.  “Go to sleep, Sleeping Beauty.” 

Tara whimpered again.  “But I wanted to stay up for more smoochies.” 

Buffy chuckled as she heard the frown in Tara’s voice.  “We’ll make up for it in the morning, sleep, love.”  She kissed Tara’s temple. 

“Love?”  Tara grinned as she moved a leg to lie atop the Slayer’s as she settled more comfortably against her, giving her a gentle squeeze with her arm. 

“Uh huh.”  Buffy smiled as she’d heard the smile in Tara’s voice. 

“Good, because I love you, too, Sweetie.”  Tara tilted her head up slightly and kissed just below the Slayer’s jawline, before giggling softly as she settled back down.  “Happy New Year, Buffy.” 

“It certainly will be.”  Buffy gave Tara a hug, and kissed her temple before resting her cheek there, a soft smile on her face. 

“Mmmhmm, sweet dreams.”  Tara softly agreed with another yawn, a smile forming on her face as she snuggled even closer to the Slayer as she quickly drifted off to sleep.