CBS - Someone is catching on to some of my hints, I see. What do you think is going on? Some of your questions will be answered this chapter! LOL Thank you my loyal fan following! Glad to know there are great people out there that realize this is for fun! Not anything serious - gee willickers!
Sink Or Swim - Oh, yeah. Buffy's hands like to wander. This chapter will bring some things to light - if people haven't already figured it out! LOL
Just Me - Oh the teasing between the women gets even better in the chapters to come - or at least I think so! OOOPS I'm tooting my own horn - forget that. I figured the hand where it was would be good enough, especially since they haven't actually gotten it on yet! Snicker Snicker. Another Willow face-off is coming soon. And I'm 'Annoying' now! Yippee I go from being an imbecile to annoying. Do I hear a pain in the ass coming up? LOL Just yanking your chain.
CHAPTER 11
"Want me to do that for you?" Tara asks coming into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Watching Buffy brush her hair.
Smiling up at Tara she holds out the brush. Climbing up behind her, Tara starts gently stroking the brush through Buffy's hair. "I want to talk to you about something."
"That feels good." Buffy moans slightly before stating "Okay."
"Faith isn't going to hurt us. I know this for a fact. But she's hurting inside. Plus she doesn't believe she's worth people caring about." Tara states quietly and matter of factly.
"So, what brilliant ideas have you come up with to help her out?" Buffy asks smiling.
"Are you picking on me?" Tara asks before chuckling quietly at Buffy's nod. "I think she's only 'the slayer', that she isn't Faith. We have to do whatever we can to make her feel that she's a person first, a slayer second." Tara finishes brushing Buffy's hair, before laying the brush down and wrapping her arms around Buffy's waist.
"So, person first, slayer second. Check. But how are we going to be able to do that when she's going to need to go slaying?" Buffy asks slightly confused.
"She can still go slaying, but maybe for this first week, with her not being in the…groove? Maybe we could all go together?" Tara suggests. "And we can talk about other stuff while we're out. She made the comment today that she could possibly find a part-time job so she wouldn't be a drain on us. Along with a lot of other comments that on their own don't mean a lot, but added up paints the picture that she doesn't believe anyone can care for her."
"You're right." Buffy whispers, running her fingers over the arms wrapped around her. "I think that she had a worse time of it growing up than you did." Buffy states in an even lower tone.
Inhaling deeply Tara asks "Has she ever talked about her life? That would explain her deep seated feeling of worthlessness."
Shaking her head Buffy quietly states "She never really talked about herself before. It took everything for her to just tell us about her watcher being murdered in front of her by Takitos or Kakistos or whatever that stupid vampires name was."
"I want to make her an actual part of our family, Buffy. Here for meals, someone to talk to, someone to yell at without it becoming a brawl. She really truly needs to feel wanted and loved." Tara whispers quietly setting her chin on Buffy's shoulder. "I think that would make a world of difference to her. If someone wanted to just love her for her. Not for what they can get from her, or out of her." Tara's voice breaks slightly on the last.
Turning around and taking the Wicca in her arms Buffy hugs her tight. "Are you okay?"
Nodding her head Tara sobs slightly "If it hadn't been for my mom, and then W-willow, and in turn the rest of my adopted family, I could have had such a different and harsh life."
"Shush. It's okay, baby." Buffy gently rocks Tara, helping her calm down. "You're with us now and no matter what, you are family." Pulling back to gently wipe the tears from Tara's face Buffy grins mischievously. "Now, as long as you don't want to literally, physically, love Faith, I think I can deal."
Busting out with a loud laugh Tara shakes her head "Can you see it? Sex Kitten extraordinaire, Tara Maclay, with two Slayers as lovers? We could have our own little kinky sex triangle going on here!"
"TARA!" Buffy yells blushing deeply. "Have you always been like this? And where the hell was I when you made comments like this before?"
"Actually, I feel freer making comments like that now." Tara shrugs grinning at Buffy. "I think you bring it out in me. I feel more comfortable with myself since you made me feel worthy of being cared for and loved for me." Looking down and frowning for a moment she looks back at Buffy with sad eyes "That's something I didn't have with Willow. I felt more like a possession, than a person. And now with everything happening, that's the way she's acting, like her prized possession was stolen and she has to get it back." Tara almost spits out the last in anger.
Shocked at the anger in the Wicca's voice, Buffy reaches up and runs her fingers down her cheek. "It's okay baby. You're not a possession and she's not getting you back. You offered her something precious and she took advantage of it and you. That's not love, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure she doesn't get a chance to hurt you again." Buffy kisses her lingeringly on the lips, not a deep kiss just a gentle pressure of her lips against the Wicca's. "And if I ever start to treat you like a possession, instead of a person, you have my permission to turn me into a frog."
Laughing at the slayer Tara shakes her head. "You're impossible."
"Hey, I wasn't the one suggesting a three-way! And can I make this comment? DO NOT say that in front of Faith. She would so be in the middle of this bed in a heartbeat." Buffy laughs slightly at the possibility.
With a raised eyebrow Tara smirks "And would that be so bad?"
Making Buffy blush extremely red. "TARA! Enough! You're starting to scare me."
"Honestly, Buffy. Think about it, she is extremely gorgeous, with the dark hair, the dark eyes. Then there's that sexual tension between you two." Tara brings up the facts as she sees them. 'And the fact that she's in love with you.' Tara thinks to herself.
Turning with wide eyes Buffy squeaks out "What?"
"It's there Buffy. I can see it even without looking at your aura. With my looking at Faith's aura I saw a lot that she probably isn't aware I saw. She could very easily come to love you, if she ever opened herself to that possibility. Actually, if she ever believed she was worth being loved, she would realize she loves you."
"Tara?" Buffy questions sitting down beside her.
"Tell me honestly, Buffy." Tara looks her in the eyes with a serious expression on her face. "Look deep inside yourself, think about the time before Faith 'turned' evil. What did you feel for her? What do you feel for her now? You don't have to say anything now. But, keep those thoughts in the back of you mind. I'm not necessarily suggesting a three way. That would be kind of odd, even though it does work for some people. It isn't uncommon for covens to have a larger group of women, all loving each other." Reaching up and touching the slayer's shoulder Tara leans in close "And I love you no matter what happens, but if you should find that you could love both of us, would it be so terrible?"
Buffy stares in stunned disbelief at Tara. 'Where did this come from?' Thinking back briefly about Faith when they danced together, slayed together. 'Could she be right? Is there something there?' Buffy looks at Tara with a more wondering expression on her face. "How do you do that? I guess thinking back…but I wouldn't even consider something like that then."
Tara shakes her head before kissing Buffy on the lips, a quick hard press before pulling back. "I haven't freaked you out?"
Buffy smiles slightly. "Maybe at first, but the more I think about it…" trailing off Buffy looks at her with searching eyes. Starting to open her mouth to say something more, Tara places her finger over her lips.
"Nothing has to be decided this moment. We don't even need to discuss this any further if you don't want to. I love you. I know you love me. That's wonderful and perfect in of itself. But both of our hearts are big and I believe it is possible to love more than one person." Smiling gently, Tara leans in and brushes her lips over Buffy's cheek.
"Okay, no more discussing this right now." Buffy smiles letting Tara know that everything's okay. "Now, I need to get some clothes on so we can have dinner." Buffy glances down at her robe smiling.
Standing up to get dressed, not thinking about it, she drops the robe to put on underwear when she hears a deep inhale behind her. "Sorry! I wasn't thinking." Buffy quickly reaches back down to grasp the robe, when she feels a hand on her shoulder.
Looking into Buffy's hazel eyes, Tara smiles slightly. "It just surprised me, Buffy." Tara huskily states, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them with laughter shining in them. "Of course, seeing your sexy firm body, better cause a reaction with me, if we're girlfriends, don't you think?"
Laughing self-consciously Buffy nods her head. "Yes, the physical side is a definite plus." Blushing slightly at imagining the blonde Wicca naked.
"However, I'll go ahead and check on dinner, while you get dressed." Tara smiles and kisses her deeply before quickly leaving the room, leaving a slightly aroused slayer behind.
AAAAAAAA
Laughing slightly at the bones, that are the only things left from dinner, Tara looks from one slayer to the other. "Maybe next time I should buy a bigger roast?"
"Hey, it's not my fault!" Buffy exclaims and points to Faith "Talk to Miss Piggy over there. She's the one that went back for FOURTHS!"
Faith tries to look innocent "I don't know what you're talkin' about. I'm just doing my portion to not waste food." Smirking at the blonde slayer.
"Sweetie, don't pick on Faith too much. She needs to build up her strength for patrol tonight." Tara grins at Buffy before smiling at Faith.
"Oooh. Speaking about patrol tonight." Buffy pipes up smiling at Faith. "If it's okay with you, we kind of thought we would all go out together. Give you a chance to get back in the swing of things. If you don't mind? Plus, I was kind of looking forward to slaying with you again when I thought about it at work." Buffy looks down blushing slightly, remembering the conversation with Tara earlier and that Tara probably knew her better than she did herself.
"You want to slay together again?" Faith asks in surprise, figuring she would be thrown out there on her own.
Nodding her head Buffy looks up, capturing Faith's gaze. "If you want."
Smiling hugely Faith nods her head. "I want." Turning to look at the blonde witch she sees a look she can't quite decipher in her eyes when she looked back. "Well, then. I'm gonna gather up the plates and put them in the dishwasher, since Blondie over there made dinner."
As Faith grabs the dishes up and takes them into the kitchen Tara smiles and raises an eyebrow at Buffy. "Thinking about slaying together at work, huh?" She whispers quietly, making Buffy blush slightly.
"Yeah, yeah. So maybe you know more than I was letting on, Miss Smarty Pants." Buffy growls lowly before smiling at the blonde. "Of course in the long run, this will depend on her, too, you know."
"Yes it does. And it's not something she's ready for yet. She needs our friendship just as much if not more before we bring that into it." Tara states softly before grabbing the glasses to take into the kitchen to add to the dishwasher.
AAAAAAAAA
While Faith was taking out some much pent up frustrations, on the hapless vampire, Tara and Buffy looked on. A neck chain the vampire was wearing got broken and fell to the ground before Faith finally staked him.
Slowly walking over to the chain and kneeling on the ground, picking it up Tara looks at it with a thoughtful expression.
"What's the matter Tara?" Buffy asks lightly placing her hand on Tara's shoulder.
Faith walks over beside the two women, kneeling beside Tara at the necklace she's running through her fingers repeatedly. "Blondie?"
Looking up, as if just coming back to herself Tara smiles self-consciously. "Sorry was just thinking about something." Standing up and brushing her skirt off, she looks back at the necklace again. "This is a nice gold chain."
"Yeah, some of the vamps actually have decent taste." Faith comments as they continue on patrol.
"I have a really, really crazy idea." Tara states softly looking from Buffy to Faith and back again.
"What would be new about that today?" Buffy grins slightly.
Looking up and blushing lightly Tara shakes her head. "Okay, this one isn't so crazy as some of my other ones today."
As they continued walking, both slayers wait for Tara to explain her idea and when after two blocks she still hasn't said anything, Faith finally rolls her eyes. "You know if you want to mention this crazy idea to the two of us, you have to say it out loud."
Buffy snorts out a laugh as Tara blushes again. "Sorry. Everything turns to dust with the vampire when you stake him or take his head, right?"
"Yeah. That's generally what happens." Faith says slowly like she's starting to wonder about Tara's mental abilities.
"Don't be a smart ass Faith." Tara states smiling and winking before continuing. "Well, what harm would there be if you took whatever money or jewelry they have on them before dusting them? I mean, it's not like they're going to need it. Plus it's going to turn to dust anyway, right? So why shouldn't you benefit from it?"
Buffy and Faith both stop dead in their tracks as Tara continues on two more steps before realizing the two slayer's stopped walking. Turning around she looks at them confused.
Faith turns to Buffy and states "It takes Miss Goody Too Shoes to figure out something we should have been doing all along? I definitely don't see anything wrong with this, do you B?"
Buffy frowns slightly "The only thing is, whatever money and jewelry the majority of vampires have on them is probably from their victims."
"Well if the victim was still alive to give their property back to, that would be one thing. However, most vampires don't leave breathing victims." Tara states softly. "Buffy it isn't like they are burglars and break into peoples homes stealing their stuff to fence. They kill people. Most cases there isn't anyone to return the stuff to. I know this seems to fall in a gray area, but is there any harm in this? Goddess, Buffy. You've died twice doing this job - a job you don't even get paid for. Is it so wrong to make your life a little easier? How many times have either one of you been hurt? That's not counting the clothes and first aid supplies you guys go through. All of that comes out of your pocket. It's not like you can register as a charity and take in donations. Personally you two put your lives on the line day after day after day. And you don't see anything for it."
Tara looks into the slayer's hazel eyes, knowing Buffy is the one that would have the most problem with it.
"You don't think it's wrong?" Buffy questions almost silently looking into those lovely blue eyes. At the shake of Tara's head, Buffy has to admit that it doesn't make any sense to turn perfectly good money to dust. Nodding her head Buffy smiles slightly. "We'll see. I say we don't take any chances, but if an opportunity presents itself to check their pockets or take their jewelry, why not?"
Smiling at Buffy, Tara pulls her in close and gives her a nice, long kiss. "I love you." she whispers quietly as she pulls away, making Buffy smile.
"I love you, too." Buffy states back. "Okay, so do we look for another vamp and see what's the what?" She asks looking at Faith.
"Sounds like a plan to me." Faith almost growls out with a predatory smile on her face. "Here vampy, vampy, vampy. Fresh meat here. Three beautiful young women walking alone just waiting to become a meal."
Tara and Buffy both laugh at Faith's shenanigans. "Do you think she's being a little obvious?" Buffy asks Tara.
"Maybe just a little." Just then a vampire jumps out from behind a bush in front of the three women. "Or maybe not." Tara smirks looking at Buffy.
Rolling her eyes Buffy looks at the vamp, doesn't look newly risen, maybe he did have something on him. "Faith, you want him?"
"Oh, yeah." Faith grunts out as she does a quick roundhouse kick, knocking the vampire down to the ground.
"She's always been very quick and strong with the leg work." Buffy conversationally states watching Faith wait for the vampire to get up to go after him again.
"I see that." Tara comments watching Faith jump up and kick the vampire hard in the solar plexus. Hearing a loud crack, Tara winces. "That hurt me, and I wasn't the one being kicked!" Watching the vampire hit the ground and not move, Faith slowly walks up to it.
"Hey B? You wanna come over here to make sure he doesn't get any funny ideas while I frisk him down?" Faith asks.
"Sure Faith" Buffy strolls over, before placing her boot down on the vampires chest making sure he doesn't go anywhere, while Faith rifles through his pockets quickly.
"Jackpot!" Faith smiles slightly. "It's not a lot, but it looks like there's roughly $75 here and a pack of smokes."
"No smoking. Your job is dangerous enough, you don't need to try and kill yourself with cancer!" Tara states firmly, grasping the cigarettes out of Faith's hand throwing them on the ground and crushing them under her shoe.
"Okay, smoking is a no, no." Faith states quietly. Looking over at Buffy who shrugs her shoulders. "Hey, Blond…Tara, what's up with the attitude about cigarettes?" Faith asks gently.
Looking up with a far away look in her eyes Tara's shoulder slump slightly, before she whispers "My Mom died of cancer. She didn't even smoke, but Dad did. She's the one that died of lung cancer."
"Oh, shit. I'm sorry." Faith gently reaches out and places a hand on Tara's slumped shoulder. Looking up at Buffy silently asking her what to do.
Buffy seeing the pleading look in Faith's eyes slowly walks up to both women before pulling Tara into a gentle embrace. "I'm sorry, babe." Buffy whispers gently pressing a kiss to Tara's temple.
Shaking her head Tara tries to smile "No, I'm sorry. Everything happening lately has got me a little on edge." Tara rubs her head lightly.
"No need to say you're sorry. Personally, I think you've done pretty well considering everything." Buffy catches Tara's eyes and smiles gently. "Come on, let's see if we can scarce up a couple more vampires, save some lives and possibly see if they have any extra cash that needs to be saved from being dusted."
Giving a real smile Tara nods her head "Okay. Let's get cracking. Faith and I bought a pie, and personally it's sounding real good right now."
"You heard the boss. Time to get crackin'" Faith smirks looking at Buffy.
"Yeah, she's the boss of this family." Buffy smiles. "Just don't piss her off. She's hell on wheels if you get her going." Buffy winks at Faith. "Come on, time to finish patrol."
AAAAAAAAAAA
"Well, that was a pretty good night, if I say so myself." Faith snorts out a little laugh. "We killed six vamps, that four horned purple demon, and saved that woman from a mugger." Grinning hugely "I don't think he'll be mugging anybody again."
Tara giggles and looks at Faith grinning. "Of course, you picking him up over your head and threatening to rip his arms off if you caught him again wouldn't have anything to do with it!"
"Idiot. Like there isn't enough shit going on with the demons, we got to deal with human assholes." Shaking her head in disgust Faith puts her weapons up.
Buffy rolls her eyes before lightly kissing Tara's cheek. "And let's not forget the $400 we actually saved from a dusting tonight. And you" Buffy winks at Tara "came up with the idea. I still feel a little weird, but I guess…" Buffy trails off shrugging her shoulders.
"Personally, I'm with Blondie. It's gonna turn to dust, if we don't grab it. And B, you more than anyone deserves something good happenin' to ya." Faith shrugs slightly. "I'm gonna get a piece of that pie, anyone else want one?"
"I do." Buffy speaks up before turning to Tara, from putting her weapons away. "You better get a piece before the bottomless pit eats it all." Buffy smirks at Faith.
"HH factor B. Since I can only take care of one of them…" Faith smirks slightly.
Tara looks from a smirking Faith to a slightly blushing Buffy and raises her eyebrow in question. "HH?"
Faith laughs as Buffy blushes even more. "Yeah. The Hungry and Horny factor. After slaying, you know. You mean to tell me B hasn't told you yet?"
"No…but it might explain the yogurts that disappear at an alarming rate." Tara smirks at Buffy.
"Okay, okay. Please, let's have pie." Buffy mumbles heading into the kitchen, followed by a laughing slayer and witch.