CHAPTER EIGHT: BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP

It was amazing really, Tara thought. Her complete self-confidence that had had her nearly sprinting across Sunnydale to find the Slayer was suddenly failing her. She rubbed her palms on her skirt, trying to find the courage to knock on the door to Buffy's dorm. Maybe Willow should have come with her after all.

Tara hesitated again, wondering if she could do this. She'd acted like such a fool. If she'd just been honest about all this in the first place, it would never have been this bad.

"Just knock Maclay," Tara chastised herself. "It won't kill you."

Before she could chicken out, she lifted her hand to the door and knocked twice. Well, it was more of a gentle rap really, and barely audible if she was honest with herself.

She swallowed hard. Maybe Buffy wasn't in. That must be it, Tara decided after a two second delay. She should go. She should –

The door opened, and Tara froze.

"Tara," Buffy said, an instant smile crossing her lips. "Hi."

"H-hi," Tara replied.

"Uh…what can I do for you?" Buffy asked.

"I was…I was wondering if maybe…I mean, if you wanted to-"

"I'd love to," Buffy blurted.

Tara's eyes widened. Not quiet what she'd been expecting. Nor was the subtle blush that was making its way up Buffy's neck, and tinging the tips of Buffy's ears.

"You would?"

"Absolutely," Buffy replied. She wasn't sure what she was agreeing to, really, but if it was anything to do with Tara, then she was in.

She couldn't really put her finger on what exactly it was about Tara that had her so completely fascinated. She wasn't anything like the last woman that Buffy had been attracted to. In fact, Tara was basically the polar opposite. The Wiccan was shy and sweet where Faith had been loud and brash. And Tara was completely unaware of her own innate beauty, whereas the dark Slayer had oozed with sex appeal and self-confidence.

"G-great," Tara replied, grinning madly.

"Oh, did you want to…" Buffy trailed off, indicating for Tara to come inside, but not giving an explicit verbal invitation.

Tara stepped past the Slayer and into the room, taking in both sides of the room that Buffy shared with Willow.

"I'm glad you stopped by," Buffy said. "I…I've been meaning to talk to you."

"You have?"

Buffy nodded. "I just wanted to clear the air between us," Buffy said. "I'm not really sure what happened the other night, but I don't want you thinking that I'm some psycho killer or anything. I know that some of the books about Slayers aren't exactly kind."

"N-no," Tara said. "I just…I…" She was stuck for words. And nervous. Never a good combination. "I'm not a demon."

Buffy's eyes widened. "I know that."

Tara froze, unable to believe she'd just blurted that out. And then there was Buffy's reaction to deal with.

"You…you know that?" Tara asked.

Buffy nodded. "I can sense demon's. It's a thing. You're definitely not a demon."

Tara blew out a sigh of annoyance. She was starting to find that keeping her fears to herself had really blown back in her face. If she'd been honest with Buffy the first time they'd met, she'd have cleared this up once more.

Buffy suddenly caught on to why Tara had reacted the way she had on their first meeting.

"You thought you were a demon," Buffy said. She waited for Tara's eyes to widen in affirmation. "That's why you seemed so uh…terrified of me."

Tara nodded. "I'm s-sorry about that."

"No, if anyone should apologise, it's probably me," Buffy said. "I…I would never hurt you Tara. Never. I uh…this will sound really stupid, but…I really don't like violence. I mean, not in dealing with everyday stuff. Show me an evil demon, I can be violent, but…I don't relish the killing."

The blonde Wiccan took in the admission, breathing even better at the thought. She really needed to kick herself when she got the chance.

The two blondes fell silent for a moment, each of them contemplating the bizarre turn of events. It made a lot more sense in how they'd reacted so skittishly towards each other.

After several more moments, Buffy couldn't stand the silence any longer. She took a step towards Tara and without much further thought, they settled into a warm hug, each of them relaxing into the others arms, allowing the stresses of the last few days to dissipate completely.

Buffy reluctantly pulled back, but took both of Tara's hands in hers.

"Can I take you to dinner?" she asked.

Tara's eyes widened. They'd had a stumbling non-conversation at the door about the possibility of…well, something, but Tara wasn't too sure what she'd been expecting.

"Like a d-date?" Tara asked.

Buffy smiled and ran a thumb over Tara's palm, making the taller blonde shiver at the miniscule contact.

"Yeah, like a date," Buffy replied.

"Y-yes," Tara managed to get out. She was nervous, not stupid!

The Slayer grinned widely, grateful that she hadn't been turned down. She felt a measure of calm settling inside herself and wondered at the feeling. She hadn't felt such calmness for a long time, and she knew that it was Tara that was causing it.

And just because she and Tara had had a few misunderstandings, it didn't mean that they couldn't move on from there. Plus, Buffy had a feeling that the getting-to-know-you period was going to be all kinds of fun.

Breaking the news to Xander, though, that was going to be priceless.

END

So, there you have it, the beginnings of a beautiful friendship, and half a Mastercard advertisement.

Many thanks for all your reviews, I always love feedback! Hope you enjoyed.

DKG