Chase Mansion, The Kitchen

They had finished their meal in a somewhat semi-silence. Cordy and Buffy felt somewhat embarrassed and suspected Tara knew something. Tara definitely did and found the whole situation hilarious. Willow felt kind of lost. She felt awkward talking to Buffy after what she did to her. Cordelia hat shot her twice so conversation might be a bit tense and Tara .. well Tara was still giggling from time to time.

Not able to keep a grin from her face Tara turned to the rest of the group. "S-so what now? How about we head back to the TV-room?" Cordelia stiffened and tried her best to come up with alternatives. "How about the pool, you know .. the indoor pool Buffy? Let's go there." Buffy agreed immediately and both of them looked at Willow and Tara who in turn declined, not really feeling like running around half naked in front of each other.

"Alright then, Buffy and I will be that way, it's hard to miss just follow the smell. You guys can explore the mansion, just stay away from the master bedroom. If you need anything ask Maria her shift is not over for another hour or two." And with that they headed off, or rather bounced off from the way their mood had changed.

"Shall we?" Willow asked and Tara nodded. "I-i think I saw a small library earlier, let's check that out. Oh.. and the TV-room."

"Hey hey slow down Cordy, Maria could see us.. umm this is not on the way to pool." Buffy said in a lame attempt to stop Cordelia's hands. "Smart slayer."

"T-this town is a-amazing, it's not what i expected at all, b-being on top of a h-hellmouth and all." Tara said as she flipped through a book. "L-like the effect it has on people, Vampires and Demons stalk t-the streets and no one suspects anything. A-all it takes is a simple lie a-and everyone n-nods and goes on as if nothing has happened. Same with y-you and Buffy."

Willow raised an eyebrow. "What about me and Buffy?"

"W-well .. um .. I-i d-don't mean to r-rub it in but anywhere e-else on the planet y-you would be in that cage n-now and Buffy w-would have thrown away the key with a smile on her face." She closed the book, and stared at the cover. "W-what you did i-is unforgivable.. S-sorry.." Tara sighed and fiddled with the book cover. "A-and yet here we are, in Cordelias Mansion, h-having dinner with them, interrupting their f-friday night because we need their help, w-which they gave without much of a second glance. It is amazing a-as I said before." She looked up at Willow who had been silent ever since her question.

"You .. really think so?" The redhead asked in a quiet voice and Tara nodded slowly. "I-i'm s-sorry.. b-but yes.." The blond was silent for a bit before she tried a little smile, ducking her head a bit before she looked over at Willow. "H-hey.. but here n-nothing is normal, a-and most people a-act very differently. Buffy forgave you, which is a w-wonderfull thing y-you should be glad for. N-not everyone g-get's a second chance like this, especially not when it's granted by a tear between hell and earth." She added with a smirk.

"Heh.. I never thought about it that way. So we are all.. what? Blinded by the hellmouth and act totally differently then we normally would?" Willow asked, very much interested in where this conversation was heading.

"N-no. It's more like Smallville, y-you know the movie? E-everyone in Sunnydale is in black and white, o-only a few people have traces of c-color in them. T-they c-can see everything clearly and are not easily f-fooled, like me." Tara finished with a grin.

"Hey.. you just insulted me didn't you?" The redhead narrowed her eyes slightly.

"K-kinda, w-well no not really. Y-you are n-normal, h-hellmouth normal that is, you often don't see what is right in front of y-you. Like Buffy and Cordelia." Tara waggled her eyebrows.

Willow was about to protest but Tara went on. "W-which is good, I mean, a-as I said if it weren't for the effect of the hellmouth e-everything would be a lot different and most likely more .. well h-human. T-there would be more pain and y-yelling, deep r-rooted hate for the weirdest of reasons... " She fell silent after this and Willow wondered why but didn't want to press the issue.

"So.. what about Buffy and Cordelia?"

"They are t-together."

"Yep in the pool at the moment I guess."

"No, they are together together."

"You mean like Daria and Cordy? No.. that.."

"That makes perfect sense." Tara finished with a patient smile. "Which is w-why you do not see it. O-or maybe you simply d-don't want to see it." She shrugged and waited for everything to sink in.

"Ok.. ok.. so Cordelia and Buffy. B-but they are just good friends, they have been through a lot you know? It's only natural they are a bit more attached now." This earned her a stern look from Tara. "Alright alright, m-maybe there is something there. Oh! If what you say is true what else could I have missed?" Panic was in Willow's eyes as she looked over at the blond.

"I-i don't know what you know s-so it's difficult to tell you what you don't know yet." Tara stopped and thought about what she just said before nodding half to herself.

"Ugh... what about ... Xander? Is something wrong with Xander?"

"H-he is the o-only guy at a table full of g-girls and when he wants someone beat up h-his first reaction is to send you."

"Yeah? So?"

"We have a long way to go you and I, but I'll get some color in you don't you worry." Tara smiled a motherly smile at Willow and started to look for a more interesting book.

It was getting late when Buffy and Cordelia strolled into the library, both wearing their comfy cloth. "Hey guys, ready to turn in? If not I can still show you the guest rooms so you know where to go to later on."

"N-no guest rooms, guest room, I have to stay c-close because of the spell a-and no windows would be good." Tara said, earning a wink from Cordelia. "I don't think we have a guest room with no windows.. that sounds more like a locker or something. We got one guest room in the upper floor tho, climbing out of that window would be kinda hard."

"U-unless your flying." Tara quipped.

"Well yes, if your flying and can crunch library walls with a thought every room in this house is a bad choice." Cordelia mumbled something after saying that and lead them up the stairs.

"Um.. Cordy why are we going to your room?" Buffy asked.

"We are not, but there is a guest room nearby that fits her description."

Tara nodded as they arrived and were shown the room. "This will do."

"Gee .. thanks."

"Key please."

"Oh you got to be kidding me." Cordelia grumbled and Buffy squeezed her hand. "Ugh.. i'll send Maria or Buffy over later ok? I'm getting a headache. Goodnight you two, see you in the morning."

Tara and Willow said their goodnights to the retreating couple and were about to turn in when Tara noticed a tiny detail she must have overlook earlier. She went back into the corridor and yelled something about an extra mattress.

"What did you mean.. you'll send Maria or me?" Buffy asked as they entered Cordelia's room, there was a hint of accusation in the tone that made Cordy think twice about what she was going to say next.

"Um.. I.. thought since I was not feeling so well you would be so kind and help out poor old me?" She batted her eyelashes at the slayer.

"Hrmpf.. somehow I feel like I'm being manipulated." Buffy replied with mock hurt before perking up again. "Oh! How about this, I fetch the keys and you answer me one tiny little question."

"No no no i can see where this is going, this is going to be another Daria kind of question is it?"

"Com on, pretty pleeease." Buffy drawled.

"You are aware that you are begging me to go and fetch something right?" Cordelia asked with a bemused grin.

"Yep." The blond answered without missing a beat.

"I know I will regret this later but oh well, go on."

With a grin on her face Buffy sprinted off. She passed the door once from left to right, then again from right to left only to appear on the left again with a mattress on her back. There was a muffled thud and Buffy's grin entered Cordelia's bedroom again, closing the door the behind her. "Now about that question." She said a little bit out of breath.

"Let's get into bed first ok sweetie? I really need to lie down and relax a bit."

"Of course."

They got ready for bed and Buffy snuggled under the covers, Cordelia followed shortly afterwards and spooned the slayer. They remained like that for a while, letting the day pass by and their bodies calm down. Eyes started to get heavy and Cordelia started to doze off.

"This is like the first time .. kind of. You remember? That was so confusing for me. I-i mean i broke down after seeing you unharmed and woke up in bed with you, just like this, and you whispered so much into my ear, so much I didn't understand, so much i still don't ..." Cordelia nodded against her shoulder, half asleep but trying her best to stay awake. "And then we had to go back to school, and I.." Buffy paused for a bit, not really feeling like bringing up the subject of betrayal.

"Looking back at it now the show made perfect sense, it was so like you to do something like this. You wanted something you knew no one would understand and made it into something else, something bizarre and loud, something so over the top that people would not understand that what they were seeing was the truth. About you, what you felt, what you wanted." Buffy turned around in Cordelia's arms to face her. "I may be a bit .. sluggish .. when it comes to realizing certain things but I did not miss the fact that Daria kinda looks like me." That sentence made sure Cordelia would not fall asleep anytime soon.

"Now that you mention it.." Cordy mumbled. "..she does look a bit like you."

"I got pretty upset when I saw the two of you together. It felt like you were mocking me you know? Out in the open. I-i know you didn't mean it that way.." Buffy said but trailed off.

"I didn't, I told you why we did all of that. And on top of that I had to do it to stay sane and I'm not kidding when I say that. I could not have gone through with acting like stuck up bitchy old Cordelia for another year and a half until graduation. This way I could even play out some fantasies of mine in a playful manner and people accepted it. You should have been there Buffy, it was electrifying, almost like in the coffee shop."

Buffy growled a bit a that. "That was anything but electrifying.. more like horrifying." She mumbled before realizing what she said, and to whom. "I-i'm sorry Cordy! I didn't .. mean it like that."

"No it's ok, it must have been .. difficult in your situation but for me it was so much more. You were mine, even more so then now .. in a way.. and it felt exquisit." Cordelia grinned as she recalled the day in her mind.

"W-what do you mean? More so then now? I'm right here in bed with you, and there is no silly excuse this time." Buffy added with a sheepish smile but Cordelia started to look uncomfortable. "Let's talk about that some other time ok sweetie? It's a bit complicated."

"Ugh now you made me curious, but alright, anything you want." Buffy leaned in and kissed Cordelia softly. There was a moment of hesitation before Buffy turned back around and snuggled with her back against Cordelia, mimicking the earlier position. "G-Goodnight Cordy."

Cordelia kissed her neck and held her close. 'She didn't ask me the question.. I wonder what's that is all about, I mean she was making such a fuss about it before. I should not push my luck tho, best leave it at that. There is simply too much she could ask me that would ruin this. "Goodnight sweetie."