"Is it supposed to burn?"

Alice and Tara exchanged a look before giggling at the sight of Brian holding a champagne flute in one hand, a strawberry in the other and his face covered in a light green face mask.

"It's supposed to tingle," Alice said reassuringly, "It's how you know its working."

Brian took a sip of his champagne and sighed.

"I can never understand why you girls put yourselves through all of this. I mean, are my toenails even dry yet? When can I walk again? I really have to pee."

"You have to admit," Tara replied, as Brian wiggled his painted toes, "The Purple Perfection really does suit you."

Brian looked down at his toes thoughtfully.

"It does make my feet sparkle…"

Brian tried to keep a straight face but couldn't hold it for long and started laughing, which in turn reminded him of his rather full bladder and he jumped up, running to the bathroom.

Alice and Tara chuckled and clinked their glasses together, before each took a long sip.

"I wonder how the others are getting on," Tara said after a moment, "I hope Buffy and Becky get on okay."

Alice grinned and shrugged.

"I wouldn't be as worried about that as I would be the bottle of tequila Becky mentioned when I was talking to her earlier."

Tara exhaled slowly and shook her head.

"We should've had these parties at the weekend. Who actually has their bachelorette parties the night before the wedding anymore?"

"Don't worry, they'll be fine," Alice reassured with her friend with a light arm squeeze, "Anyway, stop worrying. Ooh, I got this amazing foot soak thing, wanna try it?"

Tara's eyes lit up and she nodded.

"Yes, please."

Alice stood up and went into the kitchen just as Brian returned and sat in his seat again opposite Tara.

"Think we can do my fingernails next? They feel so naked compared to my toes."

"Oh definitely," Tara nodded, running her fingertips along the assortment of nail polish set up on Alice's coffee table, "Same colour?"

"Well, since I do still have a small amount of pride and will probably wipe it off before the wedding…" Brian replied, his face mischievous, "Maybe something a little more daring…how do you feel about that green?"

Tara picked up the bottle Brian was pointing at and shook it.

"How very Rihanna of you."

"You know what's scary?" Brian replied seriously, "I actually understood that reference."

Tara laughed and opened the bottle as Brian laid out his hands.

"Anyone would think you got this done on a regular basis," Tara joked, as she began painting, "Your nails are in pretty good condition for a guy. You know if you rub your cuticles with olive oil after you shower it'll stop them getting all dried out, keep them nice and soft."

"Soft fingers, eh?" Brian asked with a grin, "Lucky Willow."

Tara blushed bright red and Alice came back at that moment with a small basin, putting it on the floor. Tara put her feet in it and sighed as the warm water flowed around her, forgetting the playful teasing she'd just been subjected to.

"That is like getting a foot rub," she said, closing her eyes in contentment for a moment before reopening them and resuming painting Brian's nails, "What's in it?"

"These special salts that like, revitalise the skin. Thirty minutes of that and your feet will be softer than a baby's bottom," Alice answered with a smile, before glancing down at Brian's nails, "Ooh, vibrant colour there, Bri. Brings out your eyes."

"I thought so too," Brian said with just a hint of mirth in his voice, before he became more serious, "So, Tara…you nervous?"

Tara bit her lip before looking up with a small smile.

"A little. But just that the rabbi won't show up or I'll trip on my dress. Or it'll rain. Oh shit. What if it rains?!"

"I checked the forecast earlier," Alice said quickly as she saw Tara begin to panic, "All sunny. Not even overcast. And if for some reason it does rain, you have the room at the Four Seasons. Things can be moved there easily. But it's all fine, because it won't rain."

Tara nodded, having calmed down slightly.

"And please don't panic again," Brian spoke up, "Your hand got all shaky. I wanted painted nails, not painted skin."

Tara laughed and hit Brian playfully on the arm.

"You're worse than a real girl."

"Hey," Brian replied defensively, "You were the one who told me I was one of the girls and that I had to admit it to myself. Now I'm just embracing it fully."

Tara smiled at the boy and the three lapsed into a comfortable silence again as she finished Brian's nails before sitting back comfortably in her chair.

"I can't believe that at this time next week, I'll be married, living in a whole new city, just having started a new job."

"Well, same job. Different place of work," Alice pointed out, "We're all gonna miss you guys like crazy."

"We'll miss you too. But there'll be visits. And knowing Willow, you'll all get an email at least once a day. And hey, Al. I'll still be calling you for advice on cases. You're my mentor. My super-young, totally hot mentor."

"Thanks, T," Alice whispered and wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze, "I think it's about time we give you your present."

"Present?" Tara asked, confused, "Why-"

"It's kinda a wedding/going away present from the three of us," Alice said, getting up and looking through some papers on a desk in the corner of the room, "Becky said we should give it to you tonight since, um, well, she said Willow would be too drunk and probably forget."

Tara closed her eyes for a second, trying to get rid of the worry before opening them to see Alice standing in front of her, handing her an envelope, which she opened.

"What's…oh my god, guys, are you serious?"

Brian and Alice just nodded, smiling.

"But this must've cost…" Tara said in disbelief, before gaping between her two friends, "The Honeymoon Suite at the Four Seasons, really? We really have The Honeymoon Suite tomorrow night?"

"Yep. We figured your first night as a married couple shouldn't be spent in your tiny little apartment," Brian replied, then backtracked nervously at the look Tara gave him, "Very nice apartment. Beautiful, really. Cosy."

"It's okay, Bri," Tara said, giving him a smile, "It is tiny. But it's been home for the past two years. Guys, this was so nice of you. Thank you so much. Willow's gonna be so happy too. It's really too much."

"Nonsense," Alice smiled, "You deserve it. Plus, now you guys can just slip upstairs to your room from the reception whenever you want."

Brian laughed and Tara ducked her head, taking another swig from her champagne.

"I'm sure we can restrain ourselves."

"You shouldn't have to," Alice replied, laughing, "It's your wedding!"

They all laughed again before Tara glanced at the clock on the wall and realised it was a lot later than she thought it was.

"I should hit the hay soon. I have a hair appointment at 9am."

"Which means I should be heading home…" Brian replied, then touched his face, "Do we have anything to get this mask off?"

Alice jumped up and went into the bathroom, grabbing a facecloth and handing it to Brian.

"You can crash on the couch if you want to, Bri. It'll be a nightmare getting a cab at this hour."

"You sure?" Brian asked, wiping the green from his face, "That'd be great."

Alice smiled and went to retrieve some blankets for Brian and Tara started cleaning away the beauty products. Alice came back and dropped the blankets on the sofa.

"Tara, we'll do that. You go and get some sleep."

Tara let out an errant yawn and brought a hand up to cover her mouth.

"I don't mind helping."

Alice just shook her head and smiled.

"Nuh uh, off you go. You've got a big day tomorrow."

"I love this song!"

"What?!"

Buffy pulled Willow to her and put her mouth near her ear.

"I said I love this song!"

Willow just smiled and nodded as her, Buffy and Becky continued to dance at the club Becky had said she wanted to go to earlier, having had a few drinks at Marshalls and gone on a pub-crawl until they arrived at this club, resulting in three quite drunk girls, dancing with wild abandon.

Willow jumped around in time with the song and giggled when she saw Becky and Buffy – who were getting on like a house on fire – link arms and start to spin around in the middle of the dance floor, not caring that they were bumping into and pissing off most of the other patrons.

Willow just kept moving until she felt two hands come to rest on her hips and spun around. Upon seeing some strange guy standing there, she smiled at him politely and stepped back so he wasn't holding her any longer before turning back and resuming dancing amongst the crowds of people. The man apparently took this as some sort of invitation and sidled up to her, grinding his front into her back.

Even in her very-inebriated state, the redhead was feeling quite uncomfortable by the attention and was getting more than a little pissed that he wasn't getting the hint and intruding on her bachelorette party. She was just about to turn and point him in the general direction of Becky, who always welcomed any male interest, when she found herself being spun around again by a pair of hands on her hips and then rough lips coming at her.

She recoiled straight away, snatching her head back, her hand coming up instinctively to slap him across the face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" she yelled, wiping her mouth, fuming.

"You were into me!" the guy yelled over the music, holding his cheek, "You were playing hard to get!"

Willow got a horrified look on her face before pushing him backwards.

"I'm getting married tomorrow you asshole!"