Part 9
At the magic shop, the bell jingled and the front door opened to reveal Xander. He walked inside and noticed Willow comforting a sobbing Buffy
"Hey, what's going on? Why is Buffy crying?" he asked worriedly joining his friends at the table
"Willow is getting married" Anya informed from behind the counter where she and Giles where organizing some products
"Yeah, so…" he shrugged confused
"She…is…getting…married…before…me" the slayer said between sobs
"Oh…I see" he said understanding the situation
"It's been like that the whole week" Willow said looking at him "if she hears the 'w' word the crying begins" she informed stroking softly her friend's blonde hair
"Hey, come on Buff…" he said taking her hand "I thought you and Faith were happy together"
"We are…" she sniffed and used a Kleenex to blow her nose "but I always dreamed on walking down the aisle wearing a white dress and having flowers and friends"
"Oh Buffy…I didn't know that underneath the all mighty powerful slayer lay a romantic little girl" Giles said mockingly
"Shut up Giles" she shot back and pout making her friends giggle
The bell jingled again and this time Dawn walked in
"Hey guys" she greeted happily
"Hey Dawnie" Willow smiled sweetly
"You guys remember Jason, right?" she said pulling her boyfriend by their joint hands
"Yeah sure…hi Jason" the redhead waved at him
"Hi" he replied shyly
"Hey man…what's up?" Xander stood up and shook his hand
"Nothing much…working like crazy" he smiled sheepishly
"Oh, he's so devoted and a wonderful doctor" Dawn informed proudly
"People say medicine is a calling" Giles came from behind the counter cleaning his glasses
"And they are right" he answered nodding "it's a calling you have to answer to…you can't ignore it; but it's hard…you miss a lot of things" he said seriously "you barely see your family, you don't have time for your friends…hell, you don't have time for yourself" he said with a little snort "you don't sleep, you eat badly, but when you have somebody's life in your hands and you actually save them…man you feel powerful" his eyes were glistening but he looked at the gang listening to him and blushed "sorry…I got carried away"
"It's okay…we can see you are passionate" Giles said smiling at the boy
"That I am…there's no bigger reward to me than see the happiness in their eyes when they thank you for saving their lives…it's wonderful" he smiled
"See…that's why I'll marry him" Dawn said pecking him on the lips; the gang was suddenly startled by the sound of Buffy bursting into tears
"Oh shit…not again" Anya lifted her arms in exasperation
"What? What did I say?" Dawn asked confused
"We can't talk about marriage or anything related to it" the ex demon informed in an annoyed tone
"Why?"
"Well, since Willow and Tara got engaged, Buffy's been a little sensitive over the topic" Xander informed
"I'll never get married…I'll never gonna have a wedding party…a wedding cake" she was crying convulsively
"Oh, come on Buffy…don't be so defeatist" she said patting her sister's shoulder
"Yeah, who knows…maybe Faith surprises you some day" Xander said cheerfully
"Yeah right" she snorted and blew her nose again "when hell freezes maybe" she said sniffing
"Come on Buffy, give her some credit" Dawn coaxed
"Ha…can you imagine Faith proposing to someone?" the blonde slayer asked wiping her eyes and missing the concerned look on the redhead's face "she's probably allergic to this word"
"I don't know Buff…" Willow said seriously "she's changed…really changed" the blonde slayer raised a very suspicious eyebrow caused by the look on her friend's face
Meanwhile downtown
"Okay guys…thank you very much…see you next class…nice work everybody" Faith said dismissing her class; she grabbed a bottle of water and started drinking it; she almost chocked when she heard a soft voice behind her
"Hey" she spun to see Tara standing by the door
"Hey you…what you doing here?" she asked surprised by the visit
"Oh…I was on the neighborhood" she answered with her trade mark grin "so…how do you like your new job?"
"it's okay" the brunette answered tossing the bottle away "I don't get to kick many butts…but"
"I see" Tara nodded and walked in
"And you? Excited about the wedding?"
"Yes…yes I am" she answered with a big grin on her face "I was actually visiting some stores here…checking some prices and all"
"Oh…busy, busy, busy" Faith teased
"Yeah…I was going to invite Buffy to come but…"
"Oh please don't…" Faith raised both hands in a desperate gesture "don't even mention the word 'wedding' near her, please" she begged making Tara laugh
"So…when is your next class?" the blonde asked still giggling
"Uh…in forty-five minutes" the slayer answered checking the clock on the wall "why? Want to get something to eat?"
"Actually, I was thinking if we could…you know" she said making a fight gesture
"Spar?" she lifted a questioning brow and the blonde nodded "oh, I see…you came all the way here for an opportunity to kick my ass"
"Well…I always thought you had a nice ass" she winked flirtingly making the brunette's jaw drop and her eyes widen in shock causing the blonde to release a heartfelt laugh "so…yes or no?" she crossed her arms over her chest
"Well, you're not dressed properly" she put her hands on her hips and checked the blonde's working clothes. Tara lifted a teasing eyebrow and showed her backpack hanging over her left shoulder "alright then…go change" Faith pointed to the dressing rooms with her thumb and shook her head
"Be right back" Tara said dashing from the room
True to her word Tara was back fast wearing a pair of grey sweat pants and a white tank top; she and Faith warmed up a little and soon started fighting
Faith was punching Tara but she was blocking all the jabs, the blonde then kicked Faith in the stomach making she bent down
"Hey, come on…don't go easy on me" Tara said opening her arms
"I'm not" Faith said panting "you're in really good shape" she stood straight and rolled her shoulders "have you been practicing behind my back?" she asked faking an offended tone; Tara laughed and charged at her again; they exchanged a few blows and kicks
"So, are you gonna tell me?" Tara asked blocking another punch
"Tell you what?" Faith asked dodging a blow
"How did Willow get that ring?" Tara asked and spun delivering a circle kick; the blonde's question took the slayer by surprise making her down her guard for a second; it was enough for the kick to hit the brunette's face sending her to the floor
"Oh my God, Faith" Tara gasped and knelt beside her friend "are you okay?"
"Ow…ouch" Faith winced covering her right eye with one hand and using the other for support
"I'm sorry…Jesus, I didn't mean to" Tara apologized nervously trying to help the brunette "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry"
"It's okay…I'm fine" Faith said trying to calm the blonde
"No you're not…you're bleeding" she said seeing blood dripping all over Faith's shirt
"It's nothing…it's the eyebrow region" she said trying to stop the bleeding "it bleeds a lot" Tara searched frantically for a peace of cloth and found a white towel
"Here, put some pressure…" she applied the towel to the wound and pushed Faith's hand on it "I'll go get a first aid kit" she stood up and practically flew to the reception desk; a few minutes later Tara was kneeling in front of her with a bag of cotton balls and bottle of antiseptic; carefully, she applied it the wound
"Hey…ow…it stings" Faith complained
"Don't be such a baby" Tara said narrowing her eyes
"Baby? You opened up me eyebrow" Faith said her breathing skipping over the stinging liquid "you probably gave me a black eye…it will ruin my reputation"
"Well, you lost your concentration" Tara said throwing away the cotton ball and grabbing two small band aids "so, do you have something to tell me?" sticking the adhesives on the brunette's eyebrow
"I don't know what you're talking about" she said touching the dressing carefully
"oh, no?" Tara challenged putting away the first aid kit "so you just want me to believe that you had nothing to do with the ring Willow gave to me?" she stood up "which by the way happens to be the same ring you saw me staring at in that mall in London"
"Oh, it's the same ring?" Faith faked innocence
"Faith!" Tara said exasperatedly
"What?" she asked standing up "what you want me to say? Maybe Red browsed the internet and saw it" she started pacing "you two have the same taste…it's Destiny" she opened her arms dramatically
"That's your version?" Tara asked with an eyebrow raised
"Look, T…" the slayer sighed dramatically "forget it okay? What matters is that you're happy, right?" Tara nodded slowly "Red loves you, you love her…you're going to get married and live happily ever after, okay?" she looked expectantly to the blonde who seemed to be studying her. Releasing a big sigh, Tara unfolded her arms and moved closer to the slayer, leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips
"Thank you" she whispered softy and smiled