by captain_katie » Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:54 am
Title: Through the Lens Darkly
Author: Captain Katie
Feedback: Yay! Thanks.
Spoilers: Everything is fair game even “Angel”
Setting: Right after “Dead Things”
Pairings: Well W/T eventually, but I’d like to take things agonizingly slow with these two; additionally I like to think everyone is in love with Tara so there are lots of inklings of other people loving her besides Willow, especially a certain brunette
Rating: NC-17, a wee spot o’violence in this one
Disclaimer: I own nothing, not the characters, not the locations, nothing, Mutant Enemy does and so does Joss Whedon et al… I don’t even own my soul though I’d like to think Emily, Marianna, and Ivan would think of me as their mother
Summary: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Sixth Season: A New Interpretation
Notes: The title for Chapter 32 comes from a Franz Ferdinand song, the title for Chapter 33 comes from a song entitled “Fire” by the August Names, and the title for Chapter 37 comes for an Architecture in Helsinki song as do the lyrics in italics
***
Chapter 32: Michael
“Hey, girl!” Emily looked up at the slim dark haired boy who had greeted her on the other side of the coffee house counter. He leaned with one elbow on the glass that displayed rows of pastries beneath it as he took on a casual pose.
“Michael, what’re you doing here?” Emily’s voice was surprised as she took in the darkly dressed boy; his legs were entrapped by tight black leather and his long sleeved dark red shirt looked velvety as it clung to his thin torso.
“I see how much I’m loved.” The dark haired boy feigned a hurt expression as he pressed the hand that wasn’t presently rested atop the glass counter against his chest.
“I just meant… I thought you guys would be Bronzin’ it by now.” The brunette smiled brightly at the break in her shift at The Grotto, a coffee house that students liked to come to for seclusion and studying, the clientele sort of dropped off about two years ago after an unexplained fire torched the place and another brighter lit coffee place opened up closer to campus. Emily had heard from one of her managers that the police had reported that it had been a gang on PCP who had started the fire, but the brunette had figured it was probably some drunken pseudo-intellectual frat guys who had thought they were being daring with their arson and mommy and daddy had been able to bail them out of jail time.
“Well, we figured if you had to reside in this…” Michael took a moment to take in the dimly lit coffee shop. “Dungeon, then the least we could do was brighten it up with our gloriousness.”
“‘We’?” Emily could feel her heart beat faster at the prospect of seeing a certain blonde. “The others are here?” She looked around the coffee shop but couldn’t spot the rest of her friends.
“Karen couldn’t find a parking spot to save her life, Tara and Marcus decided to be nice and walk with her, dangerous streets of Sunnydale ya know.” The boy bent down as he examined the assorted pastries under the glass. “Hmm…” He eyed a piece of tiramisu with desire.
“But not you?” Emily gave the dark haired peruser a gently admonishing look.
Michael rose from his bent position to lean onto the counter towards Emily in a gesture of confidentiality. “I thought I’d see how Sunday night went without our favorite little magick loving lesbian around.” He smirked at the sudden blush that appeared on his friend’s face.
“Um, it went… well.” Emily ducked her head as she could feel the heat suffuse her cheeks even more. “Really well.”
“Yeah?” Michael graced her with an improving and impressed smile. “How… ‘well?’” He raised an eyebrow in a suggestive manner which just increased the redness on Emily’s face.
“Not…” Emily bowed her head. “That well.” She lifted her head to find a somewhat disappointed, but still interested expression on Michael’s boyish face. “I mean, it was fun, I got to meet most of her friends, you know her none us friends, and they were really cool and nice and strange, but in a fun way.” Emily smiled as a memory surfaced. “And… we danced.” She sighed happily at the vision that came to her of Tara and her when they had danced into the beginning of the next day.
“‘Danced’, hmm?” The slim boy smiled at the sight of his love struck friend. “And what about… the ‘W-factor’?” His tone became more serious at the mention of a certain redhead. Michael had liked Willow well enough when they had gone to Sunnydale High, he had even helped her with a protection charm for her friend Buffy as a birthday present right around time that his parents had totally freaked out at the prospect of their son being a warlock, his coming out a year later had been easy as pie compared to that whole ordeal. His father was still apologizing for the beating that Michael had received at the hands of him and his friends. What had been the strangest thing for Michael at the time was that his father had seemed unaware of why he had taken such violent action against his son only that he had and that he was eternally sorry for it.
“Um, we sort of steered clear of her.” Emily shrugged. “I don’t know. Tara still seems really hung up about her.” The nametag on the left side of her dark blue shirt moved back and forth as she fidgeted with it. “I honestly don’t get it, Willow’s not that cute.” She blew her bangs out of her face at the thought of Willow and how lucky that girl had been and she had just tossed away the most beautiful woman because of what… some stupid addiction to something. “And Tara… she’s just so…” Emily looked up with naked adoration in her eyes.
“I know, I know, I’ve heard the ‘isn’t Tara wonderful, she’s sooo beautiful and smart and nice and those eyes so dreamy’ speech.” Michael smiled good-naturedly at his friendly poke. “So when are you gonna stop beating around the bush, forgive me for the phrasing, and tell her how you feel?”
“Um, soon?” Emily smiled nervously. “Soonish?”
“Well, I’d get to it, who knows who could snatch her up until ‘soonish’ arrives”. Michael looked behind him as he heard the front door of the coffee shop open. “Speaking of arriving, here comes your lady in waiting now.” He pushed his slim frame off of the glass he had been leaning on to greet the trio who had just entered.
“You know if you knew how to parallel park we could have gotten here a lot sooner.” The sandy blonde haired boy rolled his eyes at his dark featured girlfriend.
“You don’t like how I park then you can walk.” Karen stuck her tongue out at the boy without a car. The two maneuvered around the tables and chairs as they made their way to the counter where Emily and Michael were waiting with amusement at the bickering couple.
The silent, but smiling blonde seemed to not walk toward Emily, but glide, like an angel, or a goddess. The warmth that was in the brunette’s cheeks refueled and ran down the length of her body as Tara moved closer, her long purple and green skirt seemed to flow about her ankles.
“They’ve been like this since we parked.” Tara rolled her eyes in mock frustration at the still bickering couple. “It was a nice fifteen minute walk.” The blonde smirked as she pulled her dark brown coat off of her body and laid it across her cream colored sweatered arm.
Emily had tried not to be too obvious with her staring as the simple action of Tara taking her coat off had caused the soft curves of the blonde’s body to be accentuated.
Michael unhelpfully smirked at Emily as he stood next to the oblivious blonde. The thoughts in the young man’s head were merely the fact that Emily had it bad and that Tara was unusually dimwitted when it came to the brunette and her reactions to the blonde.
“So how goes the working?” Tara smiled broadly at the nervous cashier.
“Oh, you know.” Emily tried to look away but was frozen as the blush heated her cheeks once again. “Worky.” The brunette wanted to stick her head in the bread oven at that very moment.
“As work often is.” There was a twinkle of mirth in Tara’s blue eyes that was unmistakable even in the dimness of the lower level coffee house. “So, when do you get off?” The blonde missed Michael’s smirk as he turned around toward the still squabbling couple.
“Uh, ten.” Emily couldn’t understand why she was always more of a bumbling idiot when there were other people around when she tried to speak to Tara. Michael’s sporadic knowing smirks answered it. Everyone it seemed, except for the blonde herself, knew how much Emily was completely head over heels in love with the smiling woman in front of her.
“Oh, well…” Tara took a moment to glance at the clock that hung to the right of her on the dark red wall. “That’s like only an hour from now so we could probably stay until you’re off. Michael and Karen say we have to go to the Bronze tonight.” Tara smiled as she rolled her eyes at the thought of the two dancing fiends next to her.
“Great, that sounds great, um…” Emily glanced down at the long sleeved dark blue t-shirt she had on and the dark gray cargo pants and yellow Converses. “I guess I might not be too Bronzy.”
“Lose the nametag and I’d say you’re good to go.” Tara’s half smile burned up any uncertainty within Emily that perhaps she should opt out of going out tonight.
“Well, I thought the nametag added a bit of flair to my already fabulous outfit.” Emily began to loosen up as Tara’s light teasing filled her with happiness and anticipation rather than nervousness and unease.
“It’d save time on introductions all you’d have to do is point.” The blonde smiled happily as she fell into the easy teasing Emily and her relationship was filled with.
“True enough.” Emily looked beyond the blonde as a young man in a dark blue suit approached the counter. She addressed Tara again. “Sorry, work calls.”
“We’ll just be over there having intensely intellectual conversation, probably about Harry Potter.” Tara gave Emily one last departing half grin before she turned around and led Karen and her boyfriend, Marcus, to the sofas in the corner. Michael smiled encouragingly at Emily before he also departed to the corner of sofas.
“I’m sorry, what can I get for you?” Emily smiled cordially at the customer who had interrupted her conversation with the blonde.
“Well…” The handsome dark haired suited twenty-something year old took a moment to look at her nametag. “Emily, how’s your iced chai?”
***
Chapter 33: The Rafters Shake, Casting Warning Ambers to the Floor
Tara tried to keep her concentration on the animated discussion Karen, Marcus, and Michael were engaged in regarding the possibility, or probability as Karen thought, that Harry and Ron were actually the two people destined to be together. And additionally, Hermione was merely the device in which two adolescent males could direct their sexual desires for one another without being punished by an often times homophobic society. Tara smirked slightly as the discussion turned into a debate about the metaphorical nature of wands. The blonde witch’s attention was continually diverted in the direction of the register where Emily and another girl Tara had met a few times before when she had visited the slim brunette who was presently clad in hues of blues, the girl’s favorite color it would seem. It was getting to be closing time so obviously there was a line of seven people waiting in varying degrees of impatience for their over priced caffeine enriched drinks. Tara looked to the clock that was hung a few feet above Marcus’ head on the dark red wall of The Grotto. She steeled herself for the five minutes that were left of Emily’s shift, the end of it signified when the group would eventually depart to go to The Bronze, supposedly the only place worth clubbing it up in Sunnydale… it being the only club in town notwithstanding. The soft spoken blonde liked The Bronze well enough, when in a large group and when she wasn’t required to dance sexily to anything, she usually found herself having a water break if anything too sensual came on.
Tara redirected her attention to the exasperated brunette who had just gotten through with the last of the customers who were all required to take their drinks to go. The blonde’s thoughts were on what the youngest Summers and she had discussed over Dawn’s enormous chocolate milkshake. Tara had been honest with the teenager when she had told her that she hadn’t really ever considered Emily as anything more than a close valued friend. She had never been aware of anyone else in any sort of romantic fashion when she had been with Willow, the redhead as a sweetie took up her whole heart… had taken... The question was what was Willow to her now? A friend? Her ex? Tara didn’t like the term “ex” it seemed so impersonal and it sounded as if they had no existing relationship anymore. The blonde could never imagine her life without Willow in it, in her heart, but she knew that she wasn’t ready for them to be together like they were before. Perhaps they could never be like they were before. These things, they took time, time to heal, to reconnect, rebuild trust, all of those things were vitally important in the reestablishment of a relationship and Tara wasn’t about to push any fast forward button and just say “hey, all’s forgiven, now with the snuggles”. There was just too much pain and distrust to overcome for Tara to just go to Willow and say that.
Despite the years of abuse she had suffered at the hands of her father and brother, the pain that still resided in her heart by her mother’s death at the hands of disease that had left the once strong and passionate woman bedridden with her mind degraded, and her experience of hell at the hands of Glory; Tara had never felt pain in her heart like she had the day she, along with the rest of Scooby Gang, had regained their memories after Willow had broken her promise and had done a forgetting spell that had affected the whole group. She had felt violated, her mind raped by the person she had given her entire being to, the person she had trusted to always keep her safe and loved. The woman who had not said a word to her in that sewer so many months ago was foreign to Tara, who was this Willow that had replaced her love? Was the sweet, babbling, caring, unselfish woman still in that person who had so cruelly tried to control the mind’s of not only her girlfriend but her best friend, a fragile woman who had just had paradise ripped away from her? Tara’s heart said yes of course that woman was still in there, but her mind was uncertain.
As Tara heard Emily tell the other cashier that she could close up since the other girl had to catch the bus, the blonde’s thoughts went back to Dawn’s assumptions that Emily might see Tara in a different light than the blonde witch thought of the brunette, a more romantically lit one. First Anya and now Dawnie. Couldn’t a girl be friends with another girl, even if both happened to like girls, and not want to be all snuggly? Tara thought so, definitely. Maybe it was Emily at the party that had made Dawn suspect that there was more to their relationship than just friendliness. And what did she feel? Tara didn’t know. She loved Emily as the special unique individual she was. The brunette was funny and kind, a bit quirky, and had a childlike wonder and amusement about things such as cute little cartoons coupled with a vixeny side that liked to use a bit of the spicy talk. But Emily as sweetie potential, Tara felt her mind begin to buzz as she tried to decipher what sort of thoughts she had about the brunette when it came to romance. The blonde glanced surreptitiously at the woman in question and smiled as the brunette cursed the machine that refused to stop spewing out steam. Tara thought the slim girl in blue was definitely lovely; her caramel colored skin always looked smooth and soft, as did her wavy brown hair that was currently tied in a loose ponytail and held a hint of red underneath the glow of the lights of the coffee shop. The blonde smiled at the scrunched up nose that formed on Emily as the dark red rimmed glasses were pushed up from their precarious position on the tip of her nose. Adorably cute ran through Tara’s head. But Willow adorably cute? Tara thought back to the way the redhead’s nose would scrunch up when she had her “yummy face” on. She sighed softly as she thought about the way the very tip of Willow’s tongue would stick out when the redhead was in an extremely joking or flirty mood.
“Hello, are you there?!” A few snaps of Karen’s fingers pulled Tara out of her thoughts of a certain redhead and added a tint of red to her cheeks. She averted her eyes from the trio of people seated on the sofas with her, which caused her to miss the looks that were passed between Michael and Marcus.
“Sorry, I kind of, I must of spaced off.” Tara’s blush grew as she fidgeted with the hem of her sweater. She raised apologetic blue eyes to the quirked eyebrows of Karen.
“Well, the Grot is about to close down so grab your coat, we’re heading to the B…” Karen’s words were cut off by the loud crashing sound of the window as it was shattered into a few dozen jagged pieces. “Jesus Christ!” It wasn’t a prayer, or perhaps it was, just a really loud screechy one.
“Get down!” Tara’s voice immediately led the four of them to hit the deck as glass shattered against their table and the sofas they had just occupied. As the shards of glass hit the floor and they multiplied. The blonde witch raised her head as a familiar voice sounded in her ears.
“You know people tend to open windows before the plow through them with their heads.” The blonde Slayer landed on the ground with ease. Her seemingly sure footing was lost however when a lumbering man propelled himself onto the Slayer’s back after he had entered through the opening his companion had made with her head.
“Buffy!” Tara rushed up from underneath the table to stand firmly in front of her friends who were still huddled and confused by the sight they had and were still witnessing. “Separate!” Tara’s gaze was intense as it helped to propel the spell towards the Slayer and the large vampire who had a dirty letterman’s jacket on. The Slayer remained where she was, but the vampire was soon slammed against the furthest wall from the register and where Tara and her friends were.
“Tara!” Buffy smiled as she whipped out a sharpened piece of wood from her back pocket. “What a small town.” Buffy turned her attention to the female vampire who had just regained enough consciousness to rush towards the Slayer. The vamp was strong and fast; she avoided the stake that was thrust towards her heart and hurled Buffy into the air with a swift kick to the solar plexus.
“Emily!” Tara looked to the shocked, frozen woman at the register. “Is there a back room to this place… with a good lock?!”
Emily had to visibly shake herself out of her shock at the sight of the love of her life’s friend doing back-flips in order to avoid the punches and kicks of a very pissed off and hideously deformed woman in a long velvety purple dress.
“Y-yeah, this way!” Emily motioned for her already in motion friends to follow her behind the counter. “Tara?!” Emily had a look of pure fright on her face.
“You guys go, I’m gonna stay and help Buffy!” Tara turned to quickly shift through her bag. She pulled out a large wooden cross and tossed it to a still shocked Emily. “Now go!” The blonde witch didn’t wait for a response as she took two more stakes out of her bag.
Emily graced Tara with one more worried expression before she ran after her friends. “Please be all right.” The brunette whispered to herself as she led her friends towards the cooler that locked from the inside.
“I will.” The whisper she had uttered was unconscious on Tara’s part as she stood on the table and centered herself. Tara first put a glamour on the stake to hide its existence from the two, make that four, vampires that Buffy was in battle with. She focused her energies on the chest of the lumbering vampire in the letterman’s jacket until he and the hideous yellow and red coat was nothing but dust that landed softly on the floor of The Grotto.
Buffy didn’t take the time to smile gratefully at the blonde witch, she had her own problems as the velvety dressed vampire landed a blow on Buffy’s back and the Slayer went down hard. She expected strong undead hands on her but instead felt the settlings of a newly dusted vampire expelled onto her back. The Slayer flipped around just in time to propel a man in a dark blue suit into the air.
“Ignis incendre!” Buffy had heard the clear warm voice of Tara before the flames engulfed the vamp that had still been in midair when the spell took its effects. Enflamed pieces of the vampire fell quickly to the dark maroon carpet and onto the suddenly magickally shielded form of the Slayer.
“Tara?!” Buffy was to her feet in an instant when she saw the falling form of the blonde witch. The forgotten vampire in a tweed suit took advantage of Buffy’s distraction and grabbed the Slayer around the waist and shoulders. He kept her in a locked hold even when Buffy scrambled to get to the prone figure of the sweet blonde witch who had taken a fall from the table she had been on in order to obtain a clear vantage point of the entire coffee house. The Slayer felt teeth barely touch her exposed neck when the screams erupted behind her and the vampire released his hold.
“What the hell?!” The vampire wiped at his mouth in disgust as he looked at the Slayer with venom and questions in his yellow eyes.
“Thanks, Dawn.” Buffy whispered the words of thanks under her breath before she threw out her right leg and kicked the vamp right in the crouch of his tweed pants. He went down hard as he grasped his wounded area. The pain he experienced was short lived as the wood Buffy held slid quickly between his ribs and into his decayed unbeating heart. The dust hadn’t the time to settle as it was pushed out of the way by the Slayer as she ran to her fallen friend.
Buffy lifted an unconscious but still breathing blonde witch into her slim, powerful arms. There was a bit of blood coming from Tara’s nose, but other than that the witch seemed fine thanks to the cushions of the sofa she had fallen onto. The Slayer gently brushed the blood away from the upper lip of the witch with a napkin she had extracted from a small wooden basket on the table. After the blood was erased the Slayer crumpled the napkin up before she shoved it into her pocket to be disposed of later.
“Tara?” The Slayer’s voice was a gentle coax. She brushed her hand softly down the sweet face of the witch that had assisted her. “Tara? Can you hear me?” Buffy was momentarily startled as eyes opened to reveal a sea of blue.
“Did—did we win?” Tara smiled sweetly at the Slayer who still held her against the small chest of the woman destined to kill the beings who had just terrorized the small coffee shop.
“Yeah, we won.” The Slayer returned Tara’s smile with one filled with relief. “You gave me kind of a scare though. You okay?”
Tara grunted as she gently pulled herself into a sitting position which also released her from the arms of the reluctant Slayer. “I—I’m fine. Just… it took a lot out of me I guess.” The blonde let her long soft hair fall in front of her features as she bowed her head, shy at the weakness she felt for being winded after only a few spells, albeit ones that took intense concentration.
“Hey.” Buffy’s voice was as gentle and soft as the fingers that lifted Tara’s chin. “You were… wow, I mean, with the poofing, you were amazing.” The Slayer smiled broadly both at the amazing power the witch had shown and because of the light blush that covered the shy witch’s features.
“I—Thanks.” Tara smiled happily though the blush didn’t disappear completely. “I just sort of… reacted.” The blonde thought to her friends who were still in the locked room in the back. “My friends!” Tara abruptly stood which caused the Slayer to stand quickly as well.
Buffy followed the rushed form of the blonde as they passed the counter and entered a small hallway that led to the employee’s only section of The Grotto.
“Emily?!” Tara’s voice sounded throughout the hallway as she and Buffy listened for motion. “Karen? Where are you? Michael? Marcus?”
The two blondes’ both turned as they heard muffled voices that came from behind a large metal door. Buffy tried the latch but it was locked, she was about ready to bust it in when the soft warm hand of Tara stopped her.
“Hey, are you guys okay?” Tara knocked her knuckles against the door as she wanted nothing more for them to let her in and reassure her that they were perfectly fine.
Both the Slayer and the witch took startled steps back as the large heavy metal door swung quickly open to reveal Tara’s four shivering friends. Emily was in the fore front and held the cross up to Tara and Buffy as if it were the shield against darkness that it was.
“Hey, it’s okay… um those guys with the weird masks, they’re gone.” Buffy smiled unconvincingly. Emily shook as she thrust the cross towards Buffy and then looked to Tara with startled worried eyes.
“It’s okay now.” Tara’s soft voice started to warm the chill Emily had felt since she was ordered by Tara to take the others to the safety of the back of the shop. The blonde witch slowly extended her hand to grasp the cross that could have been used as a possible weapon. “It’s okay.” The soothing quality of Tara’s voice visibly relaxed her friends as they exited the cooler into the much warmer air of the hallway.
“You’re hurt!” Emily quickly dropped the cross to gently touch Tara’s shoulders as she examined the dried blood she could see under the blonde’s nose. “We—we should take you to the hospital!”
“Emily.” Tara smiled a crooked but reassuring smile. “I’m fine. I just took a clumsy little fall. I promise I’m okay.”
After being reassured by the blonde witch, Emily turned to the other blonde woman who looked slightly uneasy. “What the hell is going on? Who were those guys and who the hell are you? And what are you doing letting Tara get hurt like that?” Heat radiated off of Emily’s slim frame as she pointed angrily at the blonde known as Buffy.
“Hey, I think you might wanna back off.” Buffy’s voice wasn’t as threatening as she would have liked, but then again this was Tara’s friend who had obviously been frightened by the vamp attack. The calming tone of the Slayer’s voice did nothing to settle down the incensed brunette.
“No, I will not back down!” Emily looked to the trio behind her who merely looked shocked as they took in the battle that Emily had waged with the slight blonde woman. “What is going on? Who were those guys?”
“Um, would you believe it was a gang on PCP?” Buffy looked uneasily from the angered face of Emily to Tara.
“Emily.” Tara gently pulled the hand that was coming very close to touching the Slayer away and instead held it in her soft grasp as she turned Emily towards her. “There’s, um, things in Sunnydale that aren’t like other towns.”
“Like vampires for instance.” Michael’s sure voice turned Tara and Emily’s heads toward the slim dark haired boy. “That’s what they were right? Or were they some kind of hell beastie?”
“Vampires?!” Marcus looked incredulous as he looked to the cross that had been forgotten on the floor. He bent to retrieve it and then held it up to his eye for a skeptical inspection. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He looked to his girlfriend who stood slightly non-nonplussed next to him.
“I-I’ve seen some pretty weird stuff.” Karen shifted her eyes from the cross to Marcus. “I’ve even been attacked by some weird stuff. The cops told me it was a wild bear that got loose from the zoo. If it was a bear then someone shaved it.” The dark tresses of her hair shook as she shuddered at the memory of the attack she had suffered, but more so for the reasons why she had been outside that creepy old mansion with binoculars, she still couldn’t believe she had ever had a thing for that weird Jonathan kid.
“But like real live blood sucking garlic fearing vampires?” Marcus still had a look of complete incredulity on his handsome face.
“Out of state student.” Michael said by way of an explanation as he gestured towards Marcus though he spoke to Buffy. “So, what I heard was right. You really bring the ‘take back the night’ thing to a whole ‘nother level.”
“I’m still lost.” Emily’s tone was softer as she was soothed by the warm hand in hers. “Vampires?”
“Magick isn’t the only thing that you thought was only in movies and stories that are real.” Tara smiled as she continued in a soft, calming voice. “There’s… demons, some are very dangerous. And Sunnydale is a hot spot for these beings.”
“So, let me get this straight, vampires are real?” Emily stumbled over her thoughts as the realization that all the weird stuff that occurred in the town she had moved to for college three years ago could actually be explained. “What about the Lochness Monster… or, or Bigfoot?” The brunette began to have an excited expression form on her features. “Elves are they real too? And—and fairies?” Emily’s brown eyes held a light of wonderment at the possibilities of what else existed besides just humans and such. She could believe fairies could exist, perhaps Tara was one.
“Um I guess I don’t know about fairies and Bigfoot, I guess I’ve never had to fight them so I don’t know.” Buffy shrugged a bit in confusion as to the excitement she could see in Emily’s expression.
“You fight them?!” Emily’s voice was a squeak. “Like—like a superhero or something?!”
“Well I don’t wear tights or a cape or anything, well okay the occasion tights if they go with my outfit, but definitely not the cape.” Buffy looked uneasily at the semi-circle of people who faced her in the too small area of the hallway.
“Buffy protects people.” Tara’s answer was simple enough but warmed the Slayer’s chest all the same.
“So, the Class Protector award was no joke huh?” Michael looked Buffy up and down until he smirked. “I always knew there was something up with you guys. Spending all that time in the library always seemed kinda on the weird side.”
“Look who’s talkin’ Mr. Warlock Boy of Goth.” Buffy hoped that she had a joking tone, the smile that graced Michael’s none Goth encrusted features told her she had been successful.
“Yeah, but you’re still weird.” Michael wasn’t one to be one upped on the jibing.
While Buffy and Michael exchanged their good natured jabbing and Karen tried to explain to her still incredulous boyfriend that the town he had moved to had a pretty high ratio of weirdness; Tara moved her and the brunette back into the coffee shop, her intention was to explain some things to Emily.
“Buffy Summers… a superhero, who knew?” Emily took a moment to take in the slim frame of the woman in question who was about twenty feet away from her and the blonde witch. “She doesn’t look that muscely.”
“Believe me, she is.” Tara smiled broadly at the wonderment in Emily’s eyes.
“Oh?” The jealous look was replaced by wonder quickly enough that Tara had been none the wiser.
“Don’t let the smallness that is her fool ya, she’s like… Starfire strong.” Tara smirked at the mention of Emily’s favorite member of the “Teen Titans”.
“Do energy beams shoot out of her eyes?!” Emily had a look of pure excitement that glowed in her warm brown eyes.
“Um, no… she’s just super strong, and um fast, and heals fast and um, she kicks and stuff.” Tara shrugged her shoulders as she was at a loss to completely explain what the Slayer could do.
“So, when I was yelling at her before, she could have totally kicked my ass huh?” Emily shot a worried look at the now smiling Buffy before she turned her look to Tara.
“Well, technically I suppose, but she wouldn’t have.” Tara smiled reassuringly. “She’s not really a violent person, she helps people, saves them.”
“Wow!” Emily could utter nothing more regarding the previously unknown savior of Sunnydale. “So she does this sort of thing a lot, saving coffee houses from destruction?”
“Yeah, she goes out on patrols and stuff at night.” Tara didn’t think Emily was quite ready to know how many apocalypses or was that apocalypi Buffy had averted. “Keeping the town safe from some not so nice things.”
“Do—do you do that too… I mean keep the town safe from the nasties that are out there and stuff?” Emily’s excitement was extinguished as worry for the blonde settled icily in her chest.
“Well, not, not all the time.” Tara shrugged a bit at the absurdity of the thought that she was anywhere near the protector Buffy was. “I—I try to help. I used to help a lot more.” The blonde witch looked away in regret regarding her absence at Scooby meetings and thus her inaction in helping the others keep Sunnydale relatively safe.
“Omigod!” Realization dawned on Emily. “All your non-class friends, your not us friends are all Buffy’s friends and… and they’re like, they’re like the ‘Avengers’ or something!”
“The Scooby Gang.” Tara had a look to her lovely features as if she was scared of Emily’s reaction to the name.
“Oh god!” Emily’s voice was squeaky. “You’re the Scoobies!” The brunette’s voice raised the attention of the people in the hallway for a moment before they turned back to their previous conversations. Emily lowered her voice a bit. “So, do they all have special powers too?”
“Um…” Tara looked to Buffy who was at the moment showing Michael, Karen, and Marcus how to properly stake a vampire with the wooden cross that Marcus had picked up from the floor. “We—we help more with research. Like if a ruckusy demon comes to town we find out what sort it is and find ways to stop it.”
“Wow!” Emily’s held wonder at the thought of demons in Sunnydale. Actual, real life demons and superheroes. “So, you’re like the Scarlet Witch of the group huh?”
“Um, no, I’d say that name would be better suited for Willow.” Tara paused as the grin on both hers and Emily’s face dropped at the mention of the redhead.
“So Willow’s a big part of the Scoobies huh?” Emily had tried to not let her unease seep into her voice, but knew it was unlikely that she had been successful.
“She—she was there from the beginning, her and Xander… and Mr. Giles.” Tara became somber not only at the mention of her ex-girlfriend but also at the mention of the absent Watcher whom she had grown to respect and love dearly.
“What can Xander do? Wait let me guess…” Emily looked up at the ceiling for inspiration. “Um, he can turn invisible.”
“He can repair things really well?” Tara smiled a crooked grin as a pout formed on Emily’s lips.
“Hmm, I guess that could be useful.” Emily turned her attention to the broken out window that she really didn’t know how to explain to her manager.
“Yeah, I’m sure he could patch that up with no problem.” Tara had followed the line of distraction Emily had taken.
“And—and Anya?” Emily wondered at the woman she had met in the Magic Box and figured she was problem some sort of alien or something, maybe a Borg that was recently reverted back into human form and had to then be reintegrated into the world of the lesser beings.
Tara seemed to pause for effect before she answered Emily’s questions. “Eleven hundred year old ex-demon.” The blonde grinned at the large eyes that responded to her reveal.
“God, no wonder!” Emily laughed lightly to herself at the oddness that just became infinitely larger regarding Tara’s group of friends. “And I’m guessin’ that Clem guy didn’t have a skin condition.” The brunette gave the blonde a gentle, but still pointed look.
“Um, demon… but a really sweet and kind one.” Tara was quick to defend the loose skinned demon she had found so charming at Buffy’s birthday.
“This couldn’t get any weirder.” Emily had no way of knowing at that very moment how she had jinxed the whole thing. “But it is pretty freakin’ cool!”
Tare merely smiled warmly in response.
“Hey, do you want me to walk you home?” Buffy’s gentle voice pulled Tara’s attention away from the brunette.
“That would be great, thank you.” Tara graced Buffy with a grateful grin before she turned back to Emily. “I—I don’t think I really feel up to a night at The Bronze after… you know, all this.”
“Oh, that’s, that’s totally cool um…” Emily looked to the faces of her three friends who stood behind Buffy. “I actually don’t think I’m up for it either so I can walk you back too.”
“I’m thinkin’ Bronzin’ it tonight has been rain checked.” Michael looked to Marcus and Karen who each gave him agreeing looks.
“Well, then we should all just pile into my car and I can drop you two off at the dorms and…” Karen turned to the quiet Slayer. “Drop you off wherever you need to go.” She ended her offer with a bright smile.
“Sounds like a plan!” Buffy smiled her thanks and led the way to the front door. “Um...” The Slayer turned to Emily. “Sorry ‘bout the window.”
“I’m sure I could have one of you lovely blondes ask a certain carpenter friend of yours to lend me a hand?” Emily grinned at both women in question before the six college students exited into the cold night air. “Besides, gangs on PCP, what’re you gonna do?” Emily gave the Slayer a knowing smile, which was reciprocated with a grateful one from Buffy. The Slayer’s mild mannered identity as a Doublemeat employee was going to stay fully intact.
“Stick a piece of wood in their heart apparently.” Marcus grunted a bit as he started getting used to the idea that the undead were just walking around doing stuff.
“Don’t forget choppin’ their heads off and fire.” Karen added helpfully.
“Does sunlight do anything or can they go all Stephen Dorff and put tons of sunscreen off and be a’ok?” Michael looked to Buffy for an answer.
“They bake in a quick way.” Was the answer Michael received, he smiled at Buffy. He felt it was good to know how to kill vampires since Sunnydale seemed to need constant protection from them. “But…” The Slayer stopped on the sidewalk to address every single person, even the experienced Tara Maclay. “Don’t go out lookin’ for them, they are very dangerous and they’ll do worse things to you than just kill you. So I’d suggest well populated areas or you know, just staying home with board games after it gets dark, ‘cause the vamps can’t come in less you invite them.” Buffy resumed her brisk pace as a few put in their places adventurers rethought their ideas of becoming vampire hunters themselves.
“Or just invite out you with us?” Michael smirked. “A little dancing, a little stakin’, loads of fun.”
“Sounds good.” The Slayer smiled in response. Buffy didn’t know what Anya had been thinking, she could totally make new friends.
***
Chapter 35: My Voice Drowns the Music Out
“You have one new message.” Tara brushed her still damp blonde hair as she listened to the mechanical voice. She paused in her movements as a very familiar voice filled the room.
“Um, hi, Tara, this is Willow, I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner, school and stuff but anyways I’m still sorry. It’s about… seven thirty and I thought maybe we could talk about Anya’s party, okay, um just, you can give me a call when you get this, or whenever you’re able to, okay, well, have a good… one, um I’ll hopefully talk to you soon. Bye.”
Willow. She must have called last night. The blonde had begun to wonder if her ex-girlfriend had any intention of calling her. Tara had to admit the three times Willow had called her dorm room she had hung up on her in an emotional panic each time. The blonde sat on the edge of her bed as her forgotten brush fell to the carpeted floor. Despite the fact that she had asked the redhead to call, Tara felt extreme nervousness within her at the thought of calling Willow back. How could she not, she was after all the one who had initiated this contact.
“After breakfast, I’ll definitely call her after breakfast.” Tara sighed after she had spoken the nervous, but determined words to herself. Her fingers twitched as she told herself firmly that she was not going to allow herself the pleasure of hearing the redhead’s voice again. The blonde’s shoulders shook as she was startled by the sudden ring that came from her phone. Her stomach clenched at the possibility that the person on the other end was Willow. Tara removed herself from her seated position on her bed in order to answer the phone that resided on her large wooden desk.
“Hello?” Tara used all of her effort to keep her voice steady and calm. She felt her body relax as the person on the other end began to speak.
“Hey, it’s Karen.” The tone of the dark featured girl’s voice was bright and cheery. “We’re sort of double parked so, um, if you wanna come down that’d be great.”
“Oh, sure, I’ll be right down!” Tara’s voice was suddenly clear and happy, the nervousness she had felt at the prospect that it was Willow faded quickly upon hearing her friend’s voice. The blonde returned the receiver to the stand, grabbed her coat off the chair and headed out of her room. She paused for a moment in the hallway in order to close and lock her heavy dorm room door. The final click of the deadbolt sounded her departure. She quickly made her way down the stairs and out the back door of Weisman Hall that let out onto the street where Karen’s car was in fact double parked.
“Hey!” Karen smiled brightly at the blonde who had opened the back door of the dark blue car and hopped in.
“Hey, guys!” Tara’s voice was warm in its greeting. Marcus gave Tara a warm “hey” before he turned back to his task of finding a descent CD to listen to. The blonde witch quickly buckled her seat belt as Karen screeched the tires of her car when she retreated from her illegal parking spot.
“So, what do you feel like?” Karen, much to the unease of Tara, turned her head to look at the blonde narrowly missing a disgruntled pedestrian. “I want breakfast tacos, but this guy wants ‘Mr. Donut’. I told him you could be the deciding vote.”
“Come on, mmm glazed hot donuts.” Marcus graced the blonde passenger in the back seat an expression meant to tempt. “Or chocolate covered ones, come on what’s better than that?” It was apparent from his tone that he thought nothing was.
Tara scrunched up her nose in a mixture of apology and disagreement. “Sorry, not really a big ‘Mr. Donut’ fan. But I mean, whatever, I’m not too picky.”
“Breakfast tacos it is!” Karen gave her boyfriend next to her a triumphant grin before she turned onto the main road that would take the intrepid breakfast goers to “Sunnyside Up”.
“Um.” Tara scrunched her eyebrows as she addressed the couple in the front seats. “Where’s Emily and Michael, I thought they were coming?”
“Oh.” Marcus finally decided on a CD and popped it into the dash of the car. Architecture in Helsinki softly filled the car as he continued. “Um, Emily called she said that… uh, she was kind of feelin’ crappy so…” He began to fiddle with the buttons on the car’s CD player to turn the suddenly deafening noise down a few notches.
“Oh? I hope she’s not catching that cold that’s been going around.” Tara grimaced with sympathy at the crappiness her friend was feeling.
“It’s probably nothing.” Karen shot her boyfriend a reprimanding look that Tara in the back missed completely. “You know, she probably just didn’t want to get outta bed.”
“Hm, well I hope she feels better.” The sincere voice of the blonde was sympathetic. Tara became silent as her favorite song was skipped to by the sandy haired boy in the front seat. The sound of the light woman’s voice filled the mid-sized Buick they rode in.
Choking on a wishbone in the firing line of lovers
who will never slow down.
And I won't let you steer, comandere the atmosphere,
since you suggested running away, it's romantic.
“Uh, yeah I’m sure she will.” There was a hint of uncertainty in Marcus’ voice as he suddenly thought he should perhaps not allow any suspicions to linger. “And I guess Michael is just AWOL. We tried callin’ him but there was no answer.”
“That’s strange.” Tara’s eyes held worry, but she quickly reassured herself that the dark haired boy had probably just slept in as he ignored calls from the outside world.
“She thinks that’s strange.” Marcus smiled good naturedly at the blonde in the back. “He’s probably just being lazy and didn’t wanna get up.”
“Yeah, probably.” Tara smiled as she relaxed into the leather cushion of the car seat. “So, uh, you guys recovered from the whole, um, you know, last night?”
“Well, it explains a whole hell of a lot.” Karen smirked as she didn’t watch the road but instead at the blonde. “I always thought this town had kind of a weird vibe or something to it.”
“And you’re friend, Buffy or whatever, she’s freakin’ strong, like really strong.” Marcus turned halfway in his seat to give an impressed look to Tara.
“Yeah, Buffy…” Karen had a confidential look to her features. “She was so weird in high school.” The dark featured driver turned back just in time to avoid running into the back of a stopped gray mini-van. “So her being this superhero or whatever…” Karen looked at the back of the mini-van with a scowl. “Hello! Green!” Only her boyfriend’s hand stopped her from aggressively honking her horn. “Anyways, um, what were we talking about?” The dark featured driver slammed on her gas as the van finally pulled itself through the intersection that previously had a group of pedestrians jaywalking.
“Um, Buffy?” Tara clutched the handle above the window to her right as she prayed that they made it to the breakfast restaurant in one piece and without killing anyone else on the way.
“Right, weird girl.” Karen’s voice was matter-of-fact as she swerved quickly to the left in order to enter the parking lot of “Sunnyside Up”.
The clenched right hand of the blonde witch that had held the handle above the window finally felt relaxed enough to release its death grip as the car was put into park and turned off. Tara looked to Marcus who seemed completely unfazed by his girlfriend’s somewhat erratic driving as he unbuckled his seat belt and exited the vehicle. The blonde sighed in relief as she did the same. Karen’s driving ranked right up there with the scariest things in Sunnydale was the thought Tara had as she slammed the car door shut and followed her friends.
***
Chapter 36: Going To Have To Tell Her
“So, tell her.” Michael thought his advice was not only sound but long overdue. “What you absolutely cannot do is pout in your room feeling sorry for yourself.”
“That’s easy for you to say.” Emily pulled the dark blue blanket more securely around her cotton clad form. She snuggled deeper in the comforting arms of her best friend. “You don’t know, god, the dreams are so, I don’t even know…”
“Hot? Sexy? Full of nakedness?” Michael’s arms tightened their hold around the woman who rested against his thin and bony t-shirt covered chest.
“They’re awful!” The brunette raised her chin to look seriously into her friend’s dark eyes. “Okay they’re not awful. It’s just, they’re so real, okay so the wings a little on the weird side, but they’re incredible and then I wake up and… I don’t know, I just feel awful.” Tears began to sting the brown eyes of the brunette.
“Why awful?” Michael smiled a warm soothing smile. “So you have sexy dreams about Tara, not that surprising since you pretty much have her in your head twenty-four seven, am I right?”
“I guess I just feel… dirty or something, you know, thinking about your friend, having really detailed dreams about your friend, it just seems kind of on the bad side.” Emily could feel the warmth that colored her cheeks as some of the memories of those detailed dream entered her thoughts. “Don’t you think it’s… kinda weird?”
“Um, if you had surveillance photographs and a shrine I might think it’s weird.” Michael gave her a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t know, Emmy, it’s not like you can control your dreams, right… so I really don’t think you have to feel all guilty or anything.” The slim dark haired boy gently pulled away from the cuddling that he had been partaking in to look at his friend with sympathetic, but serious eyes. “I don’t think it’s just the dreams that are bothering you and makin’ you all hide in your room.”
Emily looked away as she started to feel silly about her frantic call to Karen a few hours earlier telling her friend that she couldn’t go out to breakfast with them, something had come up. Karen hadn’t believed her for an instant and rightly guessed that it had something to do with a certain blonde. Emily had denied all knowledge and had merely told Karen she’d talk to her later.
“So, you gonna tell me or do I have to guess?” Michael gave her an impatient look.
“I—I’m scared…” Emily had glanced up quickly but had quickly returned her gaze to the blanket in her hands. “I know I need to tell Tara, but every time I get the guts to do it… I lose them really quickly.”
“Um, okay, first, gross, second, that’s totally understandable but...” The dark haired boy gave her a reproving look. “You have to tell her. I mean, god, how long have you been totally in love with her?”
“Um, freshman year, first day of our Soc. discussion?” Emily looked up at the boy who sat cross-legged on her bed in front of her blanket covered self. “She was wearing this really cute denim skirt and her…” The look of indulgence on Michael’s face swept the dreamy look Emily had plastered all over her features at the remembrance of the first day she had laid eyes on the then painfully shy and adorable blonde.
“That’s a long time.” Michael quirked his eyebrow as he twisted one side of his lips into a you-should-really-do-something-about-that-and-I-mean-soon smile.
“Okay, not all of that was my fault!” Her tone was defensive and faltered at the end of her explanation. “There was the whole she has a girlfriend thing!”
“And now she doesn’t.” Michael tried to show encouragement, but it resulted in a look of exasperation regarding the inaction of his best friend. “So…” His dark eyebrows quirked up in an urging manner.
“I know. And I will! Just… not um right now.” Emily looked down ashamed of her own cowardice.
“Why not?” His voice contained the frustration they both felt.
“Um, rejection, embarrassment, what if she laughs in my face!” The brunette felt a warm, comforting hand on her left shoulder.
“Uh, you really think Tara’s a laugh in you face sort of person?” His eyes bespoke the absurdity of that sort of thinking. “And rejection… well, at least you’d know.”
“Oh yeah, knowing, what’s so great about that?” Emily began to feel a bit frustrated at the words Michael was telling her that made a great deal of sense.
“Well, for one you can stop hiding from her.” Michael dropped the arm as his frustration grew.
“I’m not… you know what, you’re supposed to be supporting me here.” Emily’s eyebrows narrowed at the rolled eyes response she received.
“I am!” Michael calmed his voice as he realized his frustrated tone wasn’t helping. “Look, you need to tell Tara how you feel, you can’t get around that and you can’t just hide in your room. So, tell her, see how she responds, and deal.” His voice got progressively softer as he laid it out plainly for her. “Okay?”
“But!” Emily plea held a hint of defiance.
“Oh…kay.” His voice held no room for argument.
“Okay.” Emily lowered her head as she spoke her agreement quietly.
“Good.” Michael smiled warming at the progress he had made. “So um how big were her wings again?” He ducked quickly as a pillow made its way towards his head.
***
Chapter 37: Like a Call
“But she’s okay, right?” Willow’s large green eyes held nervous worry within their depths. “She’s not all headachy and stuff?”
“She seemed fine when we dropped her off at the dorms.” Buffy smiled reassuringly at the redhead seated across from her at the dining room table of the Summers home. “I think the um spells she did sort of winded her.” The Slayer had tried to keep the details of Tara’s involvement in the previous night’s patrol at a minimum, but the worried redhead wanted to know every thing in complete detail after the mention of Willow’s ex-girlfriend.
“Good, I mean, not good that she got all winded, but good as in she’s not hurt and stuff.” Willow looked away as the rumblings in her stomach started to subside now that she knew Tara hadn’t been seriously hurt in the fight that had transpired in The Grotto.
“Yeah, even though she got all bloody nose and all, it was nice to have her there.” Buffy smiled as she remembered how swift the blonde witch had been in dusting the vampires. “She poofed three of the vamps before she made with the sleeping.”
“That’s my girl.” The quiet praise was out of Willow’s mouth before she realized what she had said. “I mean, that’s great, great great, you know all with the helping and poofing.” The red head shifted nervously in her seat as she looked away from the gaze of the Slayer.
“Willow?” Buffy tried to look sympathetically at Willow, but the redhead wouldn’t meet her gaze. “I… hold that thought.” The Slayer put her index finger up along with the slim hand it was attached to in front of her face as she removed herself from the table to answer the phone that was ringing in the kitchen.
“Hello?” The blonde held the receiver to her ear as she put her other hand on her thin, muscular hip.
“Hi… Buffy?” The warmth in the Slayer suffused her chest as she recognized the voice immediately.
“Hey, Tara!” There was a bright smile on the blonde’s face as greeted the other blonde. “What’s up?”
“Oh, you know, pretending to study.” The Slayer could practically feel the blonde witch’s half smile through the phone. “Um, how are you? You know the fight and all.”
“Slayer healing, no bruises or anything.” Buffy began to pace happily around the kitchen. “How’re you?”
“I’m fine, sorry if I worried you last night.” Tara’s voice held enough of an apology in its tone to make anyone forgive her.
“Hey, I’m just glad you were there, dusting the vamps, which was amazing by the way.” Buffy imagined the sweet woman’s blush. “How’re your friends, are they wigged?”
“Not really, they um think it’s cool mostly.” At Tara’s words, Buffy couldn’t help but feel a little cocky as she thought about how the blonde witch’s friends had looked at her like she was Powergirl or something.
“Well, I’m glad I didn’t freak them out.” The Slayer stopped her pacing as the redhead entered the kitchen to dispose of their dishes.
“Nope, very minimal on the freaking out.” The amusement in Tara’s voice brought the smile on the Slayer’s lips to a higher degree of brightness.
“Well, that’s good, um, I talked to Xander and he said he could totally help your… uh friend out with the window.” Buffy took a seat at the island with her back to the dishwashing redhead.
“That, that’s great!” Tara’s thankful voice suddenly became quieter. “Um, Buffy, is, is Willow around, I, uh, kind of need to talk to her?” The hesitant tone of the blonde witch’s voice dropped the smile that had been a constant on Buffy’s face since she had heard Tara’s voice on the phone.
“Oh, uh, yeah, she’s right here.” Buffy put her hand over the mouthpiece of the receiver before she turned to her best friend who still stood in front of the sink. “Willow? It’s Tara, um she wants to talk to you.” The Slayer held the phone up away from her body for the redhead to take it.
“Tara?!” Willow frantically brushed the soapy water from her hands on the red dishtowel that had been on her left shoulder. “Um.” She took a moment to look completely frantic before she took the phone receiver Buffy held out for her. “Hello?” Her voice was unsteady at best.
“Hi, Willow?” The blonde’s voice was hesitant as well. “This, this is Tara.”
“Oh, hi, Tara!” The voice Willow had used seemed to indicate she had no idea who had been on the other end of the phone line until that moment. Buffy took that as her que to retreat to the safety of the dining room.
“Hi.” The voice of the blonde’s took a calmer tone following the artificial presently surprised tone of Willow’s. “I, I hope I’m not bothering you.”
“No, a big no on the you bothering me, what’s up?” Willow began to pace the kitchen as she moved from the sink to the fridge to the oven and back again.
“I wanted to see if you could, um, maybe help me, with Anya’s bachelorette party?” Tara’s voice stumbled a bit, but remained light.
“Sure, of course, always here to help, I, you were kidding about the um big beefy guys takin’ their clothes off right?” Willow’s voice stumbled over the idea of male strippers.
“Anya really wants them…” Tara’s voice was matter-of-fact. “And it’s her party after all.”
“Well, yeah, but um won’t Dawnie be there, kind of not so much PG.” Willow hoped the Dawn card would work.
“Willow.” Tara’s voice was soft and coaxed the redhead to stop her pacing. “Unfortunately for Anya there aren’t any male strippers in Sunnydale, so no, no big bulky men taking their clothes off at the party.”
“Thank god!” Willow felt her entire being relax as she laughed lightly in relief.
“Yeah, I was pretty happy about that fact too.” The redhead felt her cheeks flush in response to the warm laugh that came from the blonde.
“So, um, what do you need me to do?” Willow’s voice was hesitant but coaxing.
“I, uh, I don’t really know how to um… throw a bachelorette party, I mean, I went online to look for ideas and it was all kind of scary.” There was a slight uneasiness in the tone of the blonde’s voice.
“Um, ‘scary’?” Willow resumed her pacing.
“Apparently you’re supposed to play dirty games and drink out of things that look like, um, anyways… I figured you being the bestman and all could maybe tell me what you’re doing for Xander’s bachelor party. I’d appreciate any ideas, especially those that don’t involve well, non-PG things.” There was bemusement in Tara’s voice.
“Well I’m just getting Xander a cake where a half naked lady pops out of it.” Willow’s momentary smile at her tease dropped as she caught what she had just relayed over the phone. “That was a joke.” Willow paced again as she felt fluttering in her stomach.
“Oh.” Tara’s voice had seemed to indicate that she didn’t know if it had been a joke or not.
“Yeah, I think we’re just going to get together the night before the wedding, you know, just the Xand man and me, ‘male bonding’ as he likes to call it.” Willow smirked at the thought of how her best friend had explained why she was the closest thing he had to a male friend, the main reason he had asserted was that he could talk about how crazy women were with her.
“That sounds nice.” Willow could almost feel the soft smile that she imagined the blonde having as she spoke those warm words.
“Yeah, it should be pretty, um, nice.” The redhead could feel herself fading quickly, the sound of Tara’s voice caused heat to rise to her skin as she listened to the low melodic tones.
“So, no words of advice for throwing a pre-wedding party?” Tara’s voice still held hope.
“I think as long as we all bring plenty of bubbly drinks and presents for the soon-to-be Mrs. Harris it’ll be all good.” Willow kept her voice light and encouraging. She remembered how nervous her then girlfriend had been at the prospect of being Anya’s bridesmaid and the responsibilities that came with the title, especially the wedding speech. “No sweat, Tara, Anya will love it.”
“Thanks, Will.” The redhead’s breath hitched as she heard her endeared nickname fall from the lips of the woman whose voice caused her chest to tighten and a smile to remain on her lips. “I—I guess I just want it to be great, great for Anya.”
“It will be.” Willow hoped her voice was soothing. “If, if there’s anything I can do, to, you know, help, please let me know.”
“I will.” Tara sighed softly as she agreed sincerely. “Thanks again.”
“No problem.” The redhead found herself seated at the island as she tried to keep the conversation going, to hear the blonde witch’s silky voice if for no other reason. “I—so um how are you? I heard there was a vamp attack last night where you were?”
“Oh, um, I’m f-fine.” At the blonde’s words, Willow felt herself visibly relax that Tara was in fact all right after the attack on The Grotto. “I- Buffy was there so the vamps got dusted pretty quickly.”
“I heard someone else was doing pretty well on the poofing too.” The redhead had to smile at the thought of the blonde witch taking out some of the undead citizens of Sunnydale.
“I—I just helped a little.” The blush could almost be felt by Willow as she smiled at the blonde witch’s modesty.
“I’d say three’s a lot more than ‘a little’.” Willow smiled as she rested her non-phone holding arm on the island. “I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.”
“Me too.” The soft chuckle from Tara raised the edges of the redhead’s lips. “Hey, how does this sound? We all meet at the Bronze for Anya’s party a week from this Friday… say… around eight?”
“Sounds great!” The redhead raised her previously relaxed form as she smiled at the confidence in Tara’s voice regarding the party plans. “Do you want me to let Buffy and Dawnie know?”
“Oh, okay, sure, thanks.” The tone in the blonde’s voice became more sure as it went along. “I-I should probably let you go, much reading to do tonight. Thanks again, Will.”
“Oh, understood, about the reading, I have a ton of stuff to do before classes tomorrow, um, so I’ll just see you later then?” Willow cursed how high pitched her voice had just gotten. “And if you need anything…”
“I’ll be sure to call.” Though the gratitude was unspoken it was held in the blonde’s tone.
“Well, good night.” The redhead couldn’t help but wiggle excitedly on the kitchen stool as she grinned widely at the impending evening with Tara.
“Good night, Willow.” The click of the line closing prompted the redhead to slowly as if in a daze to turn off the receiver. She set the thing that had held her love’s voice during the duration of their too short conversation on top of the island.
“Hey, how’d it go?” Buffy’s voice interrupted the thoughts of Tara that had made a home in Willow’s mind. The Slayer had a hopeful and sympathetic expression as she came to rest against the island.
“Good, I think it was good.” Willow smiled, only a hint of happiness showed. “She, uh, she just wanted to know if I had any ideas for Anya’s party.”
“Oh.” Buffy quirked her lips, disappointed that the blonde and Willow hadn’t spoken more about other things besides Anya’s bachelorette party.
“Good news though.” Willow’s voice was filled with relief and joy. “No male strippers. So a big whoo hoo for that.”
Buffy had just the merest hint of disappointment in her eyes at the news.
***
(the end… far far from it)
Good god that's a lot of shake!
I always love stories that have Tara as the main focus especially through the lenses of looovveee. Who knows who else digs the blonde Wiccy woman... I don't really see how anyone couldn't.
Poor Emily... I feel that no one is really sure or aware when someone likes them, even if everyone around them think they're a bit dense. Seventh season Dawn is one of the few things I liked from the last season... I heart Dawnie. 
" group. *lol* If I were in Buffyland and Tara was anywhere in my vicinity W/Tshippers would hate me cause I'd be crushing hard and wondering who the crap that redheaded girl is. 
ll?
