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WA
Part 13
Tara and Simone had prepared a nice dinner to celebrate Dawn's arrival. Everybody was sat at the table enjoying the meal and listening to the younger Summers prattling unstoppably
"oh and Buffy said that there was this thing that just came out from inside her head…eww…disgusting…anyway, it happened after the invisible ray" she talked excitedly ignoring the fact that Faith was almost ripping her own arm off just to beat her with it "I'm telling you those guys were complete freaks…they put cameras all over the places…in the house, on campus even at the magic box…but Willow managed to hack all of them" she sneaked a glance at Faith after she mentioned the redhead's name "you know how good Willow is with computers…but, well, you know how good she is with everything else" she was determined to nag the slayer "she's a genius…smart, funny…Willow is great"
"Uh…can I have the salad, please?" Giles asked trying to appease the mood
"Sure…here" Faith handed him the bowl trying hard to remain calm
"Hey Giles…did you call Mr. McKnight?" Tara asked doing her best to keep the subject off of the redhead witch
"Oh, yes of course" he said sipping his wine "he's planning a trip to Romania…Transylvania to be more specific" he informed and looked at Faith "he was wondering if we could escort a group of potential slayers there"
"Yeah…sure" she shrugged "might be fun"
"I bet Transylvania is the Disneyland of slayers" Simone joked causing a fit of giggles
"Speaking of it…" Dawn started again making Faith roll her eyes in exasperation "do you remember that trip we took to Disneyland?"
"Yes…we had a good time" Tara answered with a small smile. She was fully aware that Faith was reaching her boiling point
"It was so much fun…all the gang together" she said provocatively "only the perfect couples…Buffy and Riley, Xander and Anya…you and Willow" she said sneering
"Dawn…" Tara warned when she saw Faith squeezing the fork so hard that her knuckles were turning white
"What…I'm just saying it" she faked innocence
"You're just saying it…to get under my skin" the slayer hissed through clenched teeth
"Man…you're really full of yourself, aren't you?" she snorted "I would never give you so much credit"
"No…you give 'so much credit' for someone who hurt Tara badly" she snapped angrily
"Faith…" Tara tried to hold her girlfriend down
"Oh…and wasn't your beloved Willow who drove a car into a wall with you sitting next to her?" she asked mockingly
"It wasn't her fault" Dawn raised her voice "she was sick…she'd never hurt me or anyone else intentionally" she advocated in favor of the redhead "which is more than I can say for you" she attacked "by the way, shouldn't you be in jail?"
Faith was about to come back with a sharp retort when Giles slapped the table startling everybody
"Enough" he said sternly "I won't tolerate this kind of attitude…this is a home filled with love and peace" he stated firmly "and you two are going to behave"
The room fell silent for a few seconds until Faith shoved her chair backwards and storm out of the there
"Faith" Tara went after her girlfriend and shot a disapproving look at the teenager
"Faith, wait…" she frowned when she saw the brunette putting on her coat "where are you going?"
"I don't know" she said tucking the scarf into her jacket "I need to get out"
"It's freezing outside" Tara tried to argue
"I'll find a way to warm up" she snapped cynically
"Oh, that's mature" she said ironically "what are you going to do? Go to a bar, get drunk and have sex with a random stranger?"
"I wouldn't…" she started but was cut by a fuming Tara
"Cause that's your first solution for everything, right?" she asked opening her arms "every little thing and you just storm out of the room in a theatrical exit"
"Hey, that's me…that's the way I am" Faith yelled back "I'm sorry if I'm not as perfect as your precious Red"
"Willow is not perfect" she declared seriously "and I also never asked you to be"
"Even so…I'll never be as good as her" she said dejectedly
"And I don't expect it either" Tara said furrowing her brows "I don't want you to be like her" she said honestly "I want you to be…yourself"
"But little old me is not good enough for you" she declared and lowered her head in an uncharacteristic defeated gesture
"You're right…" Tara nodded in agreement "the old Faith is not good enough for me" she narrowed her eyes at the brunette "and neither is this one standing self-depreciatively in front of me" Faith looked up and met her eyes "I want the other Faith…the one who won my heart with her kindness, her sense of humor, her generosity" she said smiling sadly at the slayer "I want the one you try so hard to hide from the world" she sighed "you can't let a seventeen-year-old kid push all your buttons like that"
"She's not a kid, Tara" she shot defensively "she knows damn well what she's doing"
"You're right…she's not a kid" she nodded in acknowledgment "but you should be the adult…that's what I expect from my girlfriend" she stated firmly "grow up Faith"
Tara turned around and left not giving the slayer a chance to reply
About half an hour later, Dawn entered the study room where Tara was sitting by herself on the couch with her head resting against the wall and her eyes closed
"Tara" she called tentatively
"That was not cool, Dawn" she scolded without even opening her eyes
"I know…I'm sorry" she sat on the couch next to the blonde "but I don't understand what you're doing with her"
"It's complicated" she sighed and leaned forward resting her elbows on her knees
"No it's not…it's simple" she shifted in place and faced Tara "you take Ariel, get on a plane and head back to Sunnydale"
"I can't do that" the witch sighed and supported her head with her hands
"Why not?" she insisted "you guys love each other…you can work things out"
"Dawn…"
"No…" the girl shook her head and stood up "Willow once told me that when people have such strong feelings for each other, they always find a way to make it work" she pressed "you belong with Willow…not Faith, she's evil"
"No, she's not" she said firmly "she's a wonderful person…you just have to know her"
"I'm sorry but I don't buy that" she replied crossing her arms stubbornly in front of her chest "she tried to kill my sister"
"She's changed…" Dawn opened her mouth to argue but was silenced by Tara's raised hand "and she's my girlfriend…you have to respect that" she warned seriously "you can't keep talking about Willow all the time"
"I wasn't talking about Willow all the time" Tara lifted a challenging brow "okay, I was…but…"
"No buts" Tara cut her off "if you love me, you're going to respect my decision…" she said "you're not a child anymore"
"Fine…I'll try" she sighed dramatically
"Thank you…that's all I ask" the blonde said getting up from the couch "I know she'd done terrible things and that you have every reason to hate her" she stroke the girl's hair gently "but she's different now…open your heart and I'm sure you'll like her…okay?"
"Okay" she agreed honestly
"Good" she smiled softly and the teen threw herself into the blonde's arms in a sisterly hug
That night, Tara had moved Ariel's crib to her room in order to accommodate Dawn in the baby's bedroom.
She had just put her child to sleep when she saw someone standing by the door
"Hey" the slayer greeted quietly
"Hi…back so soon?" the witch snapped and took the comforter off the bed to lie down
"Yeah…it's freezing outside" Faith said sheepishly tucking her hands inside her back pockets
"So I've heard" she smiled honestly seeing that the brunette was trying
"Okay…I just wanted to say goodnight" she turned around timidly
"Faith" Tara called softly
"Yeah?"
"Come here" she motioned for the slayer to move closer
"What? Wanna feel my breath?" she shot defensively
"No silly" she chuckled "I wanna talk" she said tapping the bed next her
"Ok" she bent her knee slightly and sat on the bed facing Tara
"Look, I never lied to you…you know how I feel about Willow" she started gently "we haven't really had…closure and to make things worse, we have a daughter together…" she sighed "Ariel is an eternal bond between us" she closed her eyes and swallowed a lump on her throat "but I don't want you to feel that you are s-s-some sort of…crutch that I'm using to get back on my feet" she explained "I care about you…r-r-really do and I never compared you to her" she offered honestly "I couldn't even if I tried…it's like she's the sun and you're…the moon" she said with a smile "both are beautiful and equally important…and I don't expect the moon to shine like the sun cause then…she'd be the sun" she chuckled when the slayer rolled her eyes "and I don't want the sun right now…I want the moon" she whispered "I want you"
"I'm sorry" Faith sighed and lowered her head "you're right…I couldn't let the brat get to me so easily" she said shaking her head "but I want you to know something…I would never cheat on you" she said honestly "no matter how mad I was, I would never walk into a bar to find a one night stand…not when I have this wonderful woman waiting for…her moon" she winked flirting with the blonde
"Thank you" Tara whispered softly "I needed to hear that"
"You can trust me, Tara" she offered sincerely "I'll never hurt you"
"I know…" the blonde grinned at her "now…you said something about feeling your breath…" she smiled mischievously and leaned over to pull the slayer close for a kiss.
Tara put her arms around Faith's neck and dragged her body down with hers as she fell back on the bed.
Faith's arms were resting on either side of the blonde's face.
Tara bent one knee and positioned a leg around the slayer's thigh, pressing her harder against her body.
Faith moaned and started rocking her hips against Tara's as their kisses heated up
Tara threaded her fingers into Faith's dark locks and moaned loud when she felt the slayer sucking on her pulse point.
Faith's hand started roaming up and down the blonde's body while her tongue experienced the sweetness of her skin. She was unable to contain her arousal, so she dragged Tara's shirt up and pull it completely off her body.
Tara looked at her and smiled shyly giving permission for her to go on.
Faith smiled back and pressed a soft kiss against the blonde's neck, before moving her lips down to her collarbone.
Tara moaned louder when she felt the slayer moving her attention over to her left breast.
Suddenly the brunette realized what she was doing, she was about to make love to Tara. But, even though her whole body was craving for the blonde right now, she felt that it was too soon; she knew the blonde wasn't ready to take their relationship that far yet, so she decided to take a step back.
Tara could sense Faith's thoughts drifting away and used both her hands to cup the brunette's face, locking their eyes together.
"What's wrong?" she asked gently
Faith looked deeply into a pool of blue and was overwhelmed by her feelings
"I love you" she declared openly
Tara felt her heart skipping a beat at the admission. She looked into her girlfriend's eyes and knew it was the truth.
She opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out
"Faith…I…" she tried again
"You don't have to say it back…" the slayer silenced her with a finger "I know you're not there yet…" she dropped her heard and pressed their foreheads together "but I can wait" she smiled and planted a chaste kiss on the blonde's lips. She moved away from Tara and got off the bed "good night, baby" she whispered returning the witch's top she'd thrown across the room
"Would you…" Tara started shyly
"What?" she turned and saw the blonde putting her shirt back on
"Would you stay here tonight?" she asked and blushed "just to h-h-hold me?"
"Of course…" she grinned "let me change…I'll be right back"
She came back five minutes later dressed in an oversized t-shirt and lay back next to the blonde.
Tara snuggled up to her and she wrapped her arms tightly around the witch sending both of them into a peaceful sleep.