"Buffy, this is amazing," Tara said with wonder. She didn't even know Sunnydale had any upscale restaurants. Buffy had taken her to a quaint Italian café that was not too far from campus. They were quickly seated in a booth, and Buffy had opted to sit next to her instead of across.

Tara had never really been on a date before, and she never dreamed she'd be able to go on one like this. One where nobody seemed to care what they were doing, and her partner wasn't trying to pretend that they were doing as 'just friends.'

"You like?" Buffy asked, grinning ear to ear.

"I do." Tara leaned over and gave Buffy a chaste kiss. Buffy wasn't having that, though, and she deepened the kiss - just barely staying within the bounds of what was appropriate for public.

The remainder of the date went as well as the start. Each was attentive as the other shared stories of their past. They each kept their tales focused on positive memories, each wanting to enjoy this perfect night for different reasons.

Tara couldn't help but regret that they couldn't have had this same amazing night 18 months ago. If her family hadn't convinced her that her power came from evil - she never would have walked away from Buffy that night. She did her best to push that away and just enjoy the incredible future she was sure they were going to have together.

It was nearing the end of the evening, and Buffy was starting to stress. Everything had been perfect so far, and she knew she was about to ruin it. They walked hand-in-hand in the direction of the UC Sunnydale campus in silence while Buffy worked up her nerve and Tara gave her the space she needed.

"Let's sit." Tara motioned to a bench in a somewhat secluded part of campus. Buffy's nervousness was obvious, and Tara wanted her to feel as comfortable as possible.

"Can we um…" Buffy sat nervously with her hands clutched in her lap. "Maybe kiss a little?" Buffy thought it might be wrong to kiss Tara before telling her about Angel, but she was pretty sure she'd never get another chance to kiss someone that she felt this way about.

Tara chuckled, not expecting that was what Buffy was going to say. "Yes, please."

Before Buffy realized what was happening, she was straddling Tara's lap. Tara's hands were rubbing her lower back, and it was taking all of Buffy's self-control not to grind her body against the witch. Buffy moaned way too loud, and the sound of someone approaching forced her back into reality. She quickly moved off of Tara's lap and tried to compose herself.

"That felt so good." Tara had a little more trouble composing herself - she moved closer and whispered into Buffy's ear while wrapping her arm around Buffy's waist and pressing soft kisses into her neck.

Buffy blushed and couldn't help but think about what might come next. Unfortunately, she knew they had to talk first. "Tara," Buffy practically whined, she really didn't want Tara to stop, but she needed her to.

Tara was certain that there was nothing Buffy could tell her that would change anything about how she felt. She had waited all this time, though - she could wait a little longer while Buffy explained what she needed to.

"That night I met you - I met someone else too."

Tara was again regretting her decision to let Buffy go that night. Whatever Buffy was about to tell her could have been avoided if Tara hadn't been so afraid.

"He was a vampire." Buffy squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to watch Tara walk away.

"What happened?" Tara asked when Buffy didn't continue after a few moments of silence. Obviously, Buffy had expected that news to be a bombshell, but Tara did not understand why.

Buffy hadn't really expected to have to tell the entire story, and it took her a moment to organize her thoughts. "He was cursed with a soul. So he was... good, and he helped me. He's the one that brought me back to life when the Master killed me." Even after all this time, Buffy wrestled with her feelings about Angel.

"Did he lose his soul?" Tara was trying to read between the lines and help Buffy get through this painful story.

"He did." Buffy sucked in a breath. "The curse was meant to torture him with guilt for all eternity, but it had a loophole. One moment of true happiness would make him lose his soul again."

"That sounds like a weird loophole," Tara replied without thinking.

"Oh, yeah... you're right. It is kinda weird." Buffy frowned, having never thought about that for some reason and making a mental note to ask Ms. Calendar about it. "After he lost his soul - things were really bad, and I had to stake him." Buffy finished up the story quickly, not wanting to drag things out anymore.

Tara thought she understood what Buffy was telling her, but she wanted to be sure. "What do you mean, really bad?"

"He hurt a lot of people that were close to me. He killed my watcher and tried to kill my mother. I don't even know how many others he killed." Buffy squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out the memory. "He would send me Polaroids of everyone he hurt." No one else knew about the Polaroids - it was strangely cathartic to finally tell someone. "After a while, I stopped being able to look at them."

Tara gasped in horror. Buffy was too lost in her own thoughts to notice the reaction. If she had, she probably wouldn't have been able to finish explaining.

"I had to... stake him," Buffy said with a frown.

Buffy seemed to be done talking, and Tara was left a little perplexed. Nothing Buffy said seemed like it should scare her away. Then she noticed the one detail missing from Buffy's story. "The moment of true happiness?"

"Yeah... apparently, that was being with me. I thought we were in love." Buffy shook her head, hating that she ever thought her feelings for Angel could compare to how she felt about Tara.

Tara sat back and let Buffy's story sink in. It was obvious that the experience had deeply scarred Buffy, but Tara still couldn't see any part of it that would preclude them from dating.

"So, should I leave?" Buffy asked after a few moments of silence.

Tara tilted her head up in confusion. "I don't think so."

"You're sure? That doesn't... Freak you out?" Buffy was afraid to be too relieved - she had been certain for so long that she'd never be able to recover from her mistakes with Angel.

"Before I say the wrong thing here… which part am I supposed to be freaked out by?" Tara had been playing the conversation from every angle but still didn't understand what Buffy was so worried about.

"Wait… um…"

"I mean, the vampire thing is a little unsettling. But you said he had a soul, and I assume everything worked." Tara cringed a little at that. It was one thing to accept that Buffy had slept with a vampire. It was another to actually discuss the mechanics of it.

"Faith said…" Buffy frowned and then couldn't believe how dumb she had been.

"Let me guess? No girl would ever want to be with you if you had been with a guy?" Buffy growled and thought about what her revenge was going to be. "I'm sure there are some women like that, but isn't she bi?" Faith hadn't seemed to show any preference in who she danced with, and Buffy had briefly ranted about Faith's sexual escapades - which seemed to include both male and female partners.

"I don't even know what she is." Buffy smacked herself in the head. "I do know that I'm an idiot."

"Hey, none of that." Tara grabbed Buffy's hand. "I'm sorry she did that to you." Tara was more than a little confused that Buffy considered Faith to be her 'best friend.' She assumed Faith had some redeeming qualities that hadn't yet been made apparent.

Buffy sat back and let her head loll back over the bench slightly. "I think honestly, I knew she was lying. I just... I was using it as an excuse not to even try to get close to anyone again."

Tara's heart ached for Buffy, but she also couldn't help but be a little relieved that Buffy hadn't found anyone else. She took the risk to reach over for Buffy's hand - hoping not to overstep, but wanting Buffy to know she was there.

"I think..." Buffy smiled at their joined hands and ran her thumb over Tara's. "I think I was waiting for you."

"Buffy." Tara gasped and matched Buffy's smile but had no idea how to follow up a declaration like that. She wanted to reciprocate the sentiment - she had been waiting for Buffy too, somehow she couldn't get the words out.

Buffy looked hopefully into Tara's eyes and slid closer. "Kissing?"

Tara nodded, and the make-out session resumed. Now that Angel was no longer on Buffy's mind, she fell into the kiss even further. Tara was amazed that there was even more passion than before.

"Maybe we should go inside?" Tara offered after they were interrupted yet again by a passing group of students.

Buffy hesitated and felt utterly ridiculous. She was still straddling Tara and very barely containing her desire to run to Tara's dorm room. Hell - she knew places with privacy in the woods not too far from here. That wasn't how she wanted to start this relationship, though.

"We don't have to…." Tara frowned, not quite understanding Buffy's reluctance.

"I want to, I really really do." Buffy bit her lip and tried to remember why she wanted to wait.

"But?"

"But I want this to be more than just…." Buffy started to wonder if Faith was right. If she couldn't say it, maybe she shouldn't be doing it.

"What about just going inside to talk more?" Tara offered, not wanting this night to end. "There are common rooms."

Buffy bit her lip as she considered this idea. "Next time?"

"Can next time be tomorrow?" Tara asked, and Buffy laughed.

"I think that can be arranged." Buffy grinned and helped Tara to stand. "But for now - let me get you home. I have to patrol anyway."

"Patrol?" Tara asked as they walked side-by-side.

"Have you noticed how many cemeteries are in Sunnydale?" Tara shook her head, and Buffy continued. "I think there are about fifteen of them. All those cemeteries mean a lot of ground to cover to take out the vampires before they can hurt anyone."

"Maybe they should think about cremating," Tara said off-hand, and Buffy gasped in surprise at yet another completely obvious thing that she hadn't put together.

"Cremating would make my job a whole lot easier and probably cut down on the need for so many cemeteries." Buffy hoped she'd remember to bring this up to Ms. Calendar when she saw her again.

They stood just outside Tara's building, facing each other and holding hands. Tara had to bite her lip to stop herself from trying to convince Buffy to come in. For whatever reason, Buffy wanted to move slowly. Tara wasn't about to do anything to force something Buffy wasn't ready for.

"Good night." Tara leaned in and gently kissed Buffy before backing away. They hadn't made any specific plans for tomorrow, but Tara was sure they would see each other.

"Good night," Buffy replied, doubting her decision to not follow Tara inside. She held strong as she watched Tara disappear into her building.

Buffy walked to the nearest cemetery and began her nightly hunt for vampires. Faith had agreed to patrol the areas no where close to campus tonight. Buffy was surprised and a little disappointed that she actually seemed to listen for once.

Buffy's patrol was uneventful. She actually spent most of it considering going to find Faith. It made very little sense, but she wanted to talk about her date. Even knowing that Faith would almost certainly make fun of her relentlessly for it.

Buffy could tell that Tara didn't understand her friendship with Faith - most of the time, she didn't understand it either. Faith was often almost intolerable to be around, but they just had some kind of connection that Buffy loved having.

Buffy slid into bed that night happier and more hopeful than she ever imagined she'd get to be. She wasn't even annoyed as she pretended to be when she heard the tell-tale scraping of Faith climbing up to her window.

"Faith."

"Hey, B." Faith entered Buffy's room and laid down next to Buffy, who had shifted over for her arrival.

"You do know you can use the door, right?" Buffy's words came out harsher than they needed to, not that Faith seemed to care.

"Pfft, what fun is that." Faith waved her hand dismissively and pulled a paper bag out from under her jacket.

"Is that..." Buffy sat up with rapt attention to what Faith was holding.

"You know it, girlfriend. You want yours?" Faith asked and held the sub just out of reach. It was a nightly ritual that they would get subs from the shop near Faith's motel at some point during patrol.

"Oh! I love you! Gimmie gimmie!" Buffy reached for her sub and quickly unwrapped it. "I'm surprised I didn't see you on patrol tonight." Buffy decided this was why she had been upset when Faith didn't show earlier. It had nothing to do with wanting to talk to Faith - she had just been hungry.

"Was busy." Faith shrugged, and Buffy didn't need her to elaborate. "How was your date?"

Buffy was a little surprised at Faith's question and the way she asked it. Faith almost sounded nervous. "It was good."

"That's it?" Faith asked with a raised eyebrow.

"OK, it was great." If Faith was going to press, Buffy was going to be honest.

"You came home kinda early."

Buffy knew what Faith was getting at. "We're taking things slow."

"That her idea or yours?"

"Mine. I want something more than just... sex." Buffy was proud of herself for being able to say the word, even if she did stumble over it a bit.

"She wants to, though?"

"I mean... she did invite me in," Buffy replied with a blush.

Faith choked on her mouthful of sub, and she gave Buffy an incredulous look. "B, what the fuck?"

"What?" Buffy rolled her eyes, mostly at herself for even telling Faith all of this. "Why do you even care?"

Faith actually put her sandwich down and turned to face Buffy. "Don't you remember why we started hooking up in the first place?"

Buffy frowned and looked away. "All I remember is you pressing me up against a wall somewhere and shoving your hand down my pants."

Faith chuckled, "well yeah. But that's not why."

Buffy had no idea what Faith was getting at, so she just glared at her. This usually worked to get Faith to get to the point.

"'C'mon, B." Faith stood up and started pacing, confusing Buffy even more. "Don't you remember one of the first things you ever said to me?"

Buffy thought about it for a minute, and then she sighed. "Yeah - OK. I get it."

Faith grinned and flopped back into bed, "good."

Just as Faith was settling in, Buffy remembered how mad she was, and she knocked Faith's food out of her hands as she tried to take a bite.

"Hey! What the fuck!?" Faith scrambled and just managed to save the sandwich before it could fall onto the floor. "You know better than to fuck with my food!" Faith hissed and whipped back around to face Buffy. "You're lucky I save this thing."

Buffy narrowed her eyes, not at all bowing to Faith's threat. "That was for telling me I could never get another girlfriend after Angel."

It took Faith a moment to figure out what Buffy was even talking about. Once she did, she burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" Buffy was even angrier now and tried again to get at Faith's food.

"You're right - not funny." Faith grinned as she protected her sandwich. "It's fucking hilarious!"

Buffy gave up and pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "I hate you."

"Come on, B." Faith laid back down and nudged Buffy with her shoulder. "Yout believed me because you wanted to. I knew you'd been watching her all this time."

Buffy gasped and considered trying to deny it. Instead, she rolled her eyes.

"It's all good now, though. Right?" Faith nudged Buffy again, and this time she dropped her arms. "How fucked up would it be that she finally got brave enough to track you down again, and you were with someone else?"

It annoyed Buffy to no end that she actually understood Faith's logic. "I still hate you." There was no conviction at all, and Faith didn't bother to respond.

Moments like these were when Buffy remembered why Faith was so important to her. The other slayer wanted everyone to think she was dumb and didn't care about anything or anyone. But it wasn't true at all. Faith was far more observant and thoughtful than she let on. And she was intensely protective of the people she cared about.

The biggest thing for Buffy was that Faith knew how to live, and she knew how to make Buffy live too.

Things hadn't started out so great between the slayers. Faith came into Buffy's life like a wrecking ball. After barely a day of being there, she revealed the secret about slayers to Buffy's mother, which led to all kinds of problems. Including Joyce threatening to move Buffy away from Sunnydale. Between that and Angel, it had been a very tense and difficult time for Buffy. The last thing she wanted to deal with was a bratty slayer who thought she knew everything.

Three weeks into the strife between the slayers, everything blew up. Faith's watcher, Wesley, had tracked her to Sunnydale and tried to drug and capture her. When Buffy found out what he was doing, she exploded on him. She had done such a fine job of scaring him that he completely stayed out of their lives.

When Buffy defended Faith from the council, Faith finally began to trust the older slayer. At the same time, Buffy saw Faith in a completely different light. A bond grew between them that couldn't even be defeated by their ill-advised non-dating situation.

Tara woke up groggily to a light knocking on her door.

"It's tomorrow." Buffy was standing there with two coffees and a bag of pastries.

Tara was too happy about the surprise visit to be worried that Buffy was seeing her with bedhead and morning breath. She was even happier when barely twenty minutes later, they were lying naked in bed - coffee and pastries forgotten.

Tara hadn't exactly known what to expect when they finally got to this point, though she had imagined it countless times. At first, it was clear how over-excited and nervous Buffy was. Her touches were rough and hurried, not at all what Tara had hoped for.

"We have all day." Tara finally says, stilling Buffy's hand.

Buffy chuckled in embarrassment. She didn't want to explain that she had grown accustomed to having 'quick and dirty sex, as Faith liked to call it. "How's this?" Buffy slowed the movement of her fingers and slid up to kiss Tara.

"Mmmmm, so good." Tara's body undulated under Buffy's as the slayer began a slow path down her body.

Once Buffy took her time, she somehow seemed to be more in tune with Tara's body than she was. Tara had never dreamed that it was possible to feel this loved and cared for. Worshipped was the best way she could describe it.

Tara did her best to make Buffy feel just as good.

"What changed your mind?" Tara asked once her heart stopped racing.

Buffy shifted to rest her head on Tara's shoulder and snuggled her body as close as possible. "Faith." This part was yet another reason Buffy knew she couldn't live the way Faith did. Buffy craved emotional connection and intimacy. Sex with Faith had been mechanical and emotionless - sure, it felt good physically, but that was all. Laying here with Tara felt almost as good to Buffy as the actual sex.

Tara wasn't sure how she felt about that answer and didn't want to ruin the afterglow by getting upset until she had the whole story. "How did she do that?"

"She just reminded me how important it is to live without fear." Buffy cuddled even closer and rested her hand on Tara's hip.

Tara let that very vague answer sink in. The more she thought about it, the more she started to panic.

"Tara? Is everything OK?" Buffy immediately noticed that Tara's body was stiffening next to hers, and she rolled away to give Tara space. "Does it bother you that I talked to her about us?"

Tara wasn't really sure if it bothered her or not. The thoughts in her head were buzzing too loudly for her to focus.

Buffy shifted farther away. "I can stop spending so much time with her." Buffy couldn't quite keep her voice from breaking at the suggestion.

"No, I would never expect you to do that," Tara replied quickly. "It's just kind of weird - but well... everything is weird." Tara smiled reassuringly and moved closer to Buffy, propping herself on her elbow.

"We slept together last night," Buffy said abruptly, and that tilted Tara's world off its axis. "I meant that literally!" Buffy jumped up to prevent Tara from running out of the room.

Tara wasn't sure what was going on, and she frowned as she noticed Buffy was restraining her. Buffy immediately let her go and backed up a step.

"She came over last night. We ate subs and talked for a while. Then she fell asleep in my bed. That's all - I swear!" Buffy spat the words out quickly. She couldn't believe how dumb she had been with letting Faith stay with her last night.

"You ate subs?" Tara somehow found that the oddest part of what Buffy was telling her.

"Yeah." Buffy was a little embarrassed that Tara was focusing on her eating habits. "It's sort of a ritual we have. I told you how slaying amps us up sometimes - well, it also makes us hungry."

Tara couldn't help but chuckle at how weird this conversation was. Then she noticed that she was naked with one hand on the doorknob as if she might still run into the hallway. The next thing she noticed was the way Buffy was looking at her.

"Back to bed?" Tara asked with a sideways grin, and Buffy shook her head.

"I think right here is good." Then Buffy pressed her into the door and proceeded to do things to her that she didn't even know were possible.

"So this is patrol?" Tara asked after they had been walking through cemeteries for about an hour. It had taken three weeks for Buffy to agree to take her out with them, and Tara was beginning to think that Buffy was overly protective of her.

Faith chuckled, "it's not always this boring."

"It's not boring. It's our sacred duty!" Buffy replied, and then both slayers started laughing at what was apparently an inside joke.

Tara wasn't sure what to make of their behavior just yet. She was about to give Buffy a hard time about playing up how dangerous patrol could be when the mood changed drastically.

"B," Faith whispered.

"Got 'em," Buffy whispered back.

There was no visible change in their demeanor that Tara could see, she also didn't know what they were talking about. She couldn't see or hear anything, but she didn't want to ask any questions to break their concentration.

"Stay between us," Buffy says to Tara, who immediately complies. She might not know what was going on, but she could tell that something evil was coming.

"What do we have here?" A man emerged from the shadows in front of them.

"Looks like dinner." Another from behind them.

"Is that the best you losers got?" Faith prompted with an eye roll.

"Yeah - I mean, come on," Buffy added. "You get all this extra time - you'd think you'd work on your material."

The man in front paused and tilted his head in confusion. That was just what the slayers had been waiting for, and each threw their stake - both landing true.

"Is that it?" Tara asked nervously. She had expected the slayers to relax - but they were anything but.

"Don't worry, little girl. You'll get your turn." Yet another man appeared, this one was much larger than the other two, and his face was grotesque. Tara hadn't really had the opportunity to see a vampire this close. It had been explained to her that the older the vampire was, the more pronounced their demon features might be. Tara assumed that meant this one was ancient.

Tara tried not to shriek when the rest of the vampires emerged all around them. Then she did everything she could to make sure she wasn't in anyone's way. She need not have bothered - somehow, the slayers kept a perfect 10-foot area of protection around her. Once she realized it was safer if she didn't move, she simply stopped and watched in complete awe.

This entire time, Tara didn't really understand what a slayer was. Sure she had read about them and witnessed each of them take out a few solo vampires. But this was something else.

Each woman was entirely focused and perfect. No move was wasted as they danced around her. They seemed to be in total sync with no communication, and what she initially thought was an army of vampire was decimated in barely a few minutes.

Another thing that Tara finally understood - was why Buffy and Faith were friends. She had been trying to be friendly with Faith, but it hadn't been easy. Faith hadn't been rude, but she hadn't been nice either. Tara might not have thought anything of it if it weren't for the first night they met.

Faith clearly knew how to be charming and friendly but had decided to stop being so to Tara. Tara chalked it up to jealousy and hoped that eventually, they'd get past it.

Now that she had seen Buffy and Faith working together in all their glory, she fully understood why they were so close. During the battle, they worked with complete confidence of the other. Neither was even slightly worried that the other would have their back or wouldn't be able to hold up their end of the fight.

Before this, Tara had been a little worried that Faith didn't take slaying seriously - which might get Buffy killed. Now she saw she had nothing to worry about.

"How dare you?! Do you have any idea who I am?" The apparent leader of the vampire group was all that remained. Faith moved forward to face him while Buffy moved closer to Tara.

Faith narrowed her eyes and pretended to think. "Wait - I don't give a shit." The vampire had been standing confidently, clearly not at all worried about what Faith might be able to do to him.

He was not even a little prepared when Faith launched her attack. He roared in frustration as Faith danced around him, punching and kicking out too quickly for him to stop.

"Faith." Buffy huffed, trying to get her to hurry up, and Faith waved just her off.

"Sorry, B. Just having some fun." Then Faith kicked him in the crotch as hard as she could. The vampire dropped to his knees and then flopped to his side. He was covering himself and mewling in the most pathetic way.

Faith stood over him, grinning down in satisfaction. Somewhere along the way, she had lost her stake. Without a word, she held her hand up, and Buffy tossed her one. In one smooth motion, she caught the sharpened piece of wood and drove it into the vampire's chest.

"Damn, B!" Faith cheered and pumped her fist in the air. "That was wicked."

Buffy tried not to smile, but as much as she tried to deny how much she loved it when they fell into slaying - she couldn't hide how she really felt right now. She let herself revel in it for just a moment before turning her attention to Tara. "You, OK?"

It took Tara a moment to realize that Buffy was asking her a question. "Oh. Yeah - I'm fine." Tara replied, she was fixed on the pile of dust Faith had just created.

Buffy was now checking her for injuries even though no vampires had gotten anywhere near her.

"Does that happen a lot?" Tara asked though she was pretty sure she didn't want to know the answer.

"Nah, usually not that many at once." Faith replied, still peering into the darkness around them. Tara thought that was at least partly to give them a little privacy. "Take your girl home - I'll check in with JC." Then Faith was gone.

"Will she be OK alone?" Tara just barely had enough awareness to ask. Buffy was very close to her and clearly feeling 'amped' up.

"Yeah - she'll be fine." Buffy was not at all worried about Faith. "Can I... walk you home?"

That question was laced with an intensity that had Tara's heart racing. "Definitely."