As she continued to feel the brush strokes on her back, Willow tried her best to take shallow breaths when she could, not wanting the letters Tara was painting on her back to be smeared or off-center in any way. They weren't casting a spell or summoning an entity, but instead were simply trying to relax. Adam had been defeated only a few days earlier, and after their encounter with the First Slayer, the Scoobies had been on edge almost the entire week, with no signs of calming down anytime soon.
After she had experienced the dream in which she had painted letters onto Tara's back, Willow had felt a small urging to do just that in real life. She had been ecstatic when the other woman had agreed, with color flushing to her cheeks as she had explained the one condition of doing so. Tara wanted Willow to go first. Curious and slightly nervous at the same time, the red-head had agreed.
"Take a deep breath, sweetie. Y-You have to be still for this. It might tickle." Dipping the paintbrush back into the small well of ink, Tara looked back at her love with a small twinkle of amusement in her eyes. Doing as the woman asked, Willow took a deep breath, her eyes focusing down on a small section of the carpet as she felt the brush touch her skin. Trying her best not to move, even as she felt a small tickling sensation spread through her skin, feeling the brush's bristles glide across her back, a letter forming in its trail.
"Ok, let it out." Finishing the letter and pulling the brush away from the other woman's skin, Tara looked down at her work, and smiled proudly. "You're doing really w-well."
"I am?" Looking up, Willow smiled back at the other Witch. "It really tickles when you're doing that."
"It does?" Lifting an eyebrow, Tara set the brush down for a brief moment and stretched her fingers. "I'm trying to be careful."
"It's ok, I kinda like it." Rested her head on her folded arms, the red-head continued to gaze at her love. "It's relaxing. Just us, you painting stuff on me."
"Is it what you thought it was going to be?" Picking the brush back up, Tara smiled. "I know how stressed you and everyone else have been lately."
"Definitely what I thought it was going to be." Closing her eyes as she saw the other woman dip the brush into the ink, Willow gave a content sigh, and waited for the feeling of wet bristles on her skin to return.