Buffy sat on the bed as Tara knelt beside a chest of drawers, digging through to find her first aid kit. Buffy looked around the room unobtrusively, wondering how Tara had managed to get her room decorated so quickly. The walls were painted black, and there was a string of white Christmas lights that hung from the walls. Patterned fabric hung as drapes, and the curtains at the windows were a deep red.
The bookcase looked like the one in Buffy and Willow's shared dorm room, books of spells and witchcraft lining the shelves, and the top of the bureau was covered with talismans and candles.
"You really are a Wiccan then," Buffy said absently.
Tara moved to sit on the bed beside Buffy, the first aid kit between them, a confused look on Tara's face. She followed Buffy's gaze to her magic supplies and nodded.
"Ever since I, um…was little," she replied nervously. She then realised the way Buffy had worded her semi-question. "You're not?"
Buffy laughed slightly and shook her head. "Tonight was strictly a re-con mission," she explained.
Tara grinned, and Buffy looked at her questioningly. "What?" the Slayer asked.
"Re-con m-mission?" Tara asked.
Buffy shrugged. She'd been hanging around with Giles too much. "My best friend, she's into witch craft, but…she had other commitments tonight. I owe her about a gazillion favours, so…"
Tara carefully rolled up the sleeve of Buffy's shirt and dabbed at the gash to clean the blood away. She watched Buffy carefully, trying to be as gentle as possible, and was thankful that Buffy didn't wince at the soft touch.
"But…I mean, with the v-vampires and everything…you're okay with m-magic right?" Tara asked, slightly unsure of herself. She'd been hoping to meet serious witches, and she'd gathered from the meeting that none of the people who had been at the Wicca Group had any clue about real magic.
But just because Buffy didn't practice magic, it didn't make Tara any less interested. This girl was clearly knowledgeable about the supernatural, and Tara definitely wanted to know more.
"Completely," Buffy assured the girl. "Magic's saved my ass a time or two, so…I'm not about to knock it."
Tara dabbed a slight amount of antiseptic on Buffy's wound and the Slayer hissed slightly, eliciting a quick apology from the Wiccan. Buffy shrugged it off and Tara looked at the nearly healed cut.
"You heal f-fast," Tara noted.
Buffy nodded. "Yeah."
Tara hesitated a moment. She'd read up about so many different supernatural things when she'd been growing up, even though her father had been so against it. It hadn't stopped her from researching the curious ways of magic and demons.
"You aren't h-h-human," Tara whispered softly.
It wasn't the first time that anyone had made that assumption about Buffy, though her reaction definitely wasn't the same. Usually she would be incredibly defensive, and fly off the handle, but she knew that the stuttering Wiccan hadn't meant anything by it.
"I am," Buffy replied. "Just…a little different."
"Different?" Tara asked curiously.
Buffy hesitated a moment longer. She knew that the Slayer thing was meant to be a secret identity. Then again, most of her graduating class knew about demons and about Buffy's job to slay them. They may not have understood exactly what it meant, but they understood that Buffy was special.
"Well, you know about vampires and demons, so…have you ever heard of a Slayer?" Buffy asked.
Tara's eyes went wide. In the quiet of the room, Buffy could hear the frantic pounding of Tara's heart. The quieter girl shot off the bed and stared at Buffy in wide-eyed fear. Buffy stood slowly, her hands where Tara could see them. The Slayer had no clue what had made Tara react the way she had, and she was hoping that she hadn't just lost a potential ally.
"You're the Sl-Slayer?" Tara asked, her voice practically squeaking.
Buffy nodded, still trying to understand why Tara had reacted so violently.
"Are you okay?" Buffy asked.
Tara nodded, but didn't let her eyes move away from Buffy. It was as though she was trying to make sure that the Slayer wouldn't move without Tara knowing about it first.
"Tara…I'm gonna sit back down," Buffy said, her voice soft and slow, trying to be as completely non-threatening as possible. "I'm kinda hoping that maybe you'll do the same."
Tara eyed her warily, unable to believe her reaction. She hadn't even considered the thought that Buffy was the Slayer. And now that she'd reacted in such an obvious way, she would have to explain herself.
Buffy sighed seeing the complete apprehensiveness that was written all over Tara, from the way her hands were shaking, to the way she put as much room as possible between them on the bed.
Buffy stood up slowly and saw Tara move slightly away from her. She smiled sadly at the blonde girl, unable to work out why she was so upset at Tara's reaction.
"I'm making you uncomfortable, so…I should go," Buffy said softly. "Goodnight Tara."
Tara didn't say a single word as she watched Buffy walk towards the door, open it and close it behind her. Tara sighed, not sure whether it was in relief or disappointment. She'd reacted so terribly to one of the first people on campus who hadn't treated her as some sort of nutjob when they found out about the magic. Or about her shyness. Or about the way she stuttered when she was nervous.
And despite the fear of the power that the Slayer held, Tara wished that she could have reacted better. For possibly the first time in her life, she wished that she had learned to lie properly.
She sighed again and lay down on her bed, running over the entire evening in her mind once more. The first potential friend she'd made and it had to be someone that she could never realistically be friends with. And, to add insult to injury, not only had Tara been interested in Buffy as a potential friend, but as a potential lover as well.
She closed her eyes and tried to get the memory of the beautiful blonde girl to leave her alone. Eventually she fell into a fitful sleep, plagued with the Slayer killing a demon with a suspiciously familiar stutter, and shoulder length blonde hair.