Tara felt her lover come up behind her and smiled, sinking against her as Willow's arms came around her waist. Their heads touched, a brush of hair against cheeks, and the love and trust between them was almost tangible.
"Whatcha doing?"
Glancing down at the rolling pin in one hand and the lump of dough in the middle of the floured board, Tara answered, "Making a pie. What's it look like?"
Willow grinned. "I make a pie by thawing one and sticking it in the oven."
"And it tastes like sweetened cardboard," the blonde chided. "My mama taught me how to make pie the old-fashioned way. Fresh apples, sugar, shortening in the crust. It's going to be delicious." She started rolling the dough and Willow moved to her side to watch. "It's also cheaper," she added, a bit too casually.
"We're going to be fine. Once school starts and our loans and scholarships come in..."
Tara sighed softly and put her muscle into flattening the dough into a circle. "The mortgage on this house will eat through that. Maybe we should think about moving."
"We can't do that to Dawn. The house is all she has to hold onto."
"No word from her dad yet?"
Willow scowled. "You don't know how tempted I am to use my magic to punish this deadbeat dad."
"Don't even think it, honey," Tara interjected. "We'll just have to get jobs."
"If only Buffy were here," the redhead said wistfully, reaching for an apple slice and solemnly munching on it.
"If wishes were horses, Will..."
"Yeah." Willow agreed with a nod and the subject was changed back to pie and dinner and tv night, but the glimmer of an idea remained.
End