Of Stakes And Spells
by VixenRaign
A Lot To Digest
[reviews]
= = = (*A Lot To Digest*) = = =
After hastily dressing , and a kiss at the door, they were off. Waiting out in the open, down in the student's center, Buffy and Willow stood looking for Tara. It was obvious that the redhead was anxious, shifting her weight from foot to foot, and wringing her hands every so often. Buffy walked up behind her, and wrapped her arms around the Witch's waist, hugging her tightly. Willow lavished in the touch until she noticed a boy looking at them sideways. She squirmed slightly, but Buffy didn't let go.
"Don't worry," she whispered in her ear, "I've got my eye on him." Willow smiled slightly, but it quickly faded.
"Buffy?" Willow asked quietly, "What are we gonna do?"
"We're going to go out and have Brunch with Tara." Buffy replied, only half joking. The tone implied that they would take things step my step, dealing with problems as they came up. "We're going to tell our families, or at least I am . . . and I want to tell our friends." The Slayer felt Willow stiffen.
"Buffy, I'm not . . . -" she started, but was interrupted.
"Hey, it's okay. I know you're nervous, so am I. But every time I keep a secret, it blows up in my face, and I don't want that to happen this time. This is too good to screw up. You don't have to tell your parents, and we don't have to tell the Scoobies right away . . . but I do want to tell them eventually. I'm going to tell my mom, I think she'd want to know . . . and I kind of want to tell her."
"Buffy, I . . ." Willow stated, but stopped. Buffy kissed her neck sweetly, and told her to say whatever she wanted. Willow shook her head. "I don't know what to do. I've never been in a situation like this. My parents freaked out over Oz, and that was because he was a musician! Oh Goddess . . . what would they say if I told them I was dating a woman! And on top of that, YOU, of all people! My mom can't even remember you name, and she's always going on and on about how bad of an influence you are!" Willow was working herself into a tizzy, worried out being disowned and financially disconnected. Buffy rubbed her tummy gently, and told her things would be alright.
"Willow, it'll be okay. We'll work things out. Telling people is hard, it always is, but I want them to know. I want to be able to kiss you without people's eye popping out of their sockets (granted, that'll probably happen anyways with Xander). I'm proud of us, and I want to be able to tell people you're my girlfriend. Besides, you and my mom already met so no worries about weather or not my parents approve!" Buffy finished laughing, but Willow quickly turned around in Buffy's arms, a scared look in your face.
"Oh God! Buffy, Your MOM!" gasped, "What will she think when she finds out we're dating! Your mom was more of a mother to me then my own was, and what if she freaks out and . . . and . . ." Willow sputtered, trying to think of something, "Hates me! I've perverted her daughter! Oh Goddess, she's going to kill me . . ." Willow slumped in Buffy's arms, resting an exasperated head on the Slayer's shoulder. Buffy kissed her forehead and rubbed her back gently.
"Hey, it'll be okay. My mom loves you, and you know that. Don't worry about her, I'll tell her myself if you want?" Willow nodded her head from its place on the Slayer's shoulder. "Hey, cheer up. Everything will be okay. Let's just take this one step at a time. If you want I'll go with you to tell your parents, and that's only if you want to. But first and foremost, let's get through today, alright?" Buffy reached down and lifted the witch's chin with a crooked finger.
"Buffy?" Willow asked quietly, "What are we going to tell Tara?" Buffy looked away. She did really like Tara, she seemed like a great person, but she didn't want to jeopardize her relationship with Willow for anything. Plus, it would be like choosing A-Track tapes over CDs. Willow was perfect, her everything. She was all that Buffy had ever wanted in anyone, Best-friend or Lover, and now she had both all rolled up into the same amazingly beautiful package.
"We'll tell her the truth. Good place to start, right? A Girl we just met, and a potential friend. Besides, I think she'll figure it out, she seems like a smart girl."
"Buffy," Willow asked in the same small voice, "Are you stilt going to flirt with her?" Buffy smiled, and held in a laugh. She shook her head , and the Witch smiled, glad to see that Buffy had chosen her completely. Suddenly, Willow's Resolve-Face was firmly set, and Buffy actually looked scared. "In that case," Willow started firmly, "You can tell her." When the Slayer didn't respond right away, Willow's eyes widened threateningly.
"Okay! Okay! I'll tell Tara!" she responded quickly.
"Tell me what?" both girls spun around to find Tara standing right behind them. They sprang apart, and looked at each other guiltily. Tara didn't look all that surprised to see them standing that close, but they still felt nervous, knowing that they were going to tell her.
"Uh, that we . . ." Buffy started, now knowing how to cover it, "Can't go to Chez Louis. I know that it's supposed to have great Breakfast food, but since I'm paying for you guys I have this feeling I'm gonna end up having to wash dishes if we go there." Buffy nodded slightly, happy with her excuse. Tara smiled, as though she knew better.
"T-That's okay, I thought w-we w-were just going to eat on campus. I don't r-really go out much, and all the food I get that's n-not from the Cafeteria is t-take-out." She blushed slightly, finding her introverted nature rather embarrassing. Both girls smiled, though Buffy a bit more widely.
"In that case, we HAVE to go out to eat!" she put her hands on Tara's shoulders, and looked her in the eyes. After a few seconds, she let go, a look of realization on her face. "You're a Vegetarian, aren't you?" Tara, slightly surprised, nodded. Buffy turned to Willow and asked, "Do they still have that farmer's market down on Fletcher street?"
"I think so . . ." Willow said, deep in thought, but then looking up, "But I think it's only on Sundays now." She smiled, ruefully.
"Okay then, new idea!" Buffy said looking at Tara, "I know that you're probably going to cringe when I say this but, how about The Village Dinner?" No response from Tara. "I know, not exactly health food, but they have great fruit salad. My mom used to take me there for breakfast right when me moved to Sunnydale. What do you think?" she asked, looking between Tara and Willow. Willow nodded.
"W-Would they have pancakes?" Tara asked, looking down at her shuffling shoes. Buffy laughed, and assured her they did.
Together the tree girls walked out of the Student's Center, and right away Buffy asked for Tara's version of events from the night before. She told them that she had seen Willow in the Wicca group, and wanted to find her so they could do some spells to get people's voices back. She had been attacked and fallowed by the creepy men on her way over to their dorm. Willow then took her Book-Worm roll and explained that the 'Creepy Men' had in fact been Fairy-Tale creatures called The Gentlemen. Then Willow asked Tara a question.
"How did you move the Vending Machine like that?" This question had been bugging Willow every second she had spent thinking about it (which wasn't much, due to how distracted she was by the OTHER large even of the previous night). Tara smiled slightly, and explained.
"I r-really didn't do much. The power to m-move the object came alm-m-most entirely from you. You have s-so m-much power Willow, but you have very little focus. How m-much time did you spend, um, learning your craft?" Willow looked confused.
"Well," she started, thinking hard, "I guess it really started right at the end of Junior year. But I didn't really do it very much until I was a Senior."
"That's how long you've b-been practicing, I m-meant how long have you studied?" Willow looked confused, and turned to Buffy, who looked REALLY lost as it was. "You didn't study the Craft before you started practicing it?" Tara sounded both shocked and worried.
"Yeah, so?" Tara looked down at her feet, but back up again. She glanced at Buffy, then turned to Willow.
"People who do magic are supposed to find their inner center before the try and harness the magic within it. That's why it takes so long to become a witch. A person can't just wake up one day and start meditating until they find an inner calm. They need to do a lot of work to place the origins of where the power comes from and how they got it. I didn't do spells until I was seven, but I had been practicing the Craft my entire life." Both girls looked at her a bit shocked. Willow because she didn't realize she had been doing something wrong, and Buffy because Tara hadn't stuttered once. The Slayer realized that the blonde drew confidence from her magic, and that perhaps tutoring Willow might help the Scoobies, but also help the girl come out of her shell a bit more.
"I think we've just realized why you couldn't move the Vend by yourself . . ." Tara trailed off, deep in thought. "You have the power, but you lack the focus." She turned back to Willow. "When I took you hand last night, and we did that spell, the power came entirely from you, but it was simply channeled through me. Kind of like a funnel." Willow nodded, while Buffy felt a bit confused.
"Wait," she started slowly, "Willow has power, and you have focus. So, like, together you make the perfect Witch?" Buffy guessed. Tara nodded, realizing that all her babble about Magic may have made the Slayer feel a bit left out. "Why don't you teach Willow how to find focus, and then when it comes to big spells you too can work together?" Willow nodded, and looked to Tara to see if she was interested, but the Blonde just looked confused.
"W-When would I n-need to do a big spell?" She looked almost suspicious. Willow looked to Buffy, and they all stopped walking. The Slayer sighed, and looked to Tara.
"Do you know what a Slayer is?" Tara shook her head, and Buffy gave her the text-book definition. She told her about her calling, and how she had come to be here in Sunnydale. They slowly started walking again, Tara listening intently all the while. She told the Sorceress about all the crazy things that go bump in the night, and how she fought them on a regular basis. She also told her about Willow's involvement. She told her about Giles and Xander, and even about Faith and Kendra. Tara seemed shocked, yet interested. She asked a lot of questions about what they did with Demons.
"S-S-So . . . D-Do you k-kill all demons, or j-j-just the ones t-that like to k-kill people?" Tara didn't look at Buffy when she said this, and the Slayer guessed why. {Wicca, of course! They're not even supposed to hurt plants, and here I am going on and on about all the things I kill regularly . . . how rude am I?}.
"No, Tara. We do research to make sure that they're here for trouble first, then we Slay. If they're not bothering anyone, then they're just left alone." Tara still looked worried.
"W-What if t-they did something b-bad, b-but they didn't m-m-mean to? Like, w-what if it w-was a mistake? Like, i-if they w-were trying to help, b-but things j-j-just -"
"Tara!" Buffy cut her off quickly, trying to calm her down. The sorceress had gotten herself so in such a state the Slayer could hardly understand her. "Just calm down, you're working yourself up for no reason." Buffy pulled the door of this diner open, and waved the ladies in. "We know that not all demons are bad. At the end of my Junior year I met one that was actually trying to help me alter an ancient prophecy. He was kind of like a Karma Demon, his job was to keep balance between good and bad, though he worked mostly for good since we're always the underdog."
The Slayer had led them to a booth, and told her about their encounter with Whistler and the prophecy about Angel. Tara asked who Angel was, and when Buffy looked away, the blonde knew it must have been bad. Willow took the liberty of explaining, and Tara looked near tears by the end. Willow told her about his return, and how he had gone down to LA to be a Private Investigator, trying to help the helpless and saving souls. Just as she finished, the waitress asked them if they were ready to order. They all seemed to cheer up at the mention of food.
After ordering, they went back to talking about the types of things they encountered on the Hellmouth. Willow told Tara about Oz, another good example for the good-bad-guy paradigm. As they ate, Buffy and Willow told the new girl about some of the scarier stories of high-school, and about Buffy's Demon-Room-Mate. Tara asked if the life of a Scooby-Member was always so life threatening and dangerous, and Buffy assured her it wasn't.
Truth be told, it was mostly the Slayer that got hurt and did nightly patrols, so she was the one to receive the brunt of the pain. They asked her to give being a Slayerette a try, and after a bit of wheedling she agreed. They said that she could simply be Willow's Magic partner, to which she agreed eagerly, and then help with research. She said she'd love to give it a try, and they told her it was entirely voluntary, so she didn't have to go ALL the time. When they were finished, Buffy gave Willow the money to pay, leaving Tara and Buffy alone at the table.
"She's r-really funny." Tara said smiling. Buffy nodded, and smiled at Willow, waiting in the line to pay. "You're really luck to have her as a girl-friend." Buffy's eye shot back to Tara. Tara just kept smiling. {She didn't even stutter!} Buffy thought.
"How did you . . . ?"
"If you're l-looking for it, th-then it's, um, not hard to find." Tara blushed, and looked down at her hands in her lap. Buffy reached across the table, taking the blonde's hands in her own. "Buffy?" she asked slowly, "Were y-you flirting with m-me last night?" Buffy nodded, and cleared her throat.
"Look, Tara . . . I'm sorry about that. I should not have done that, and I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, or led you on. I really like you, and you're a great person, but Willow and I . . ." she sighed, and looked up from the countertop to her copper-toped best-friend. "We just started this, and I don't want to mess it up, ya know?" she looked at Tara, and saw so many emotions on her beautiful face. Confusion, Disappointment, but ultimately; understanding. She nodded, and smiled again.
"B-Buffy?" she asked slowly, "H-How long have the two of you been t-together?" her tone was friendly and light. Buffy slowly pulled her hand back, and smirked more to herself then to the sorceress.
"Less than 12 hours." Tara's eyes bugged, and she looked away, blushing slightly. Buffy laughed, and continued. "We've know that we had feelings for each other for about three weeks now, but we decided that we both needed some time so soon after our break-ups. We only just made it official last night . . . I don't ever want to think what would have happened to her if you hadn't saved her." She looked up at Tara, who smiled just as widely.
"I-I've never s-saved anyone before . . ."
"Must be a skill you're born with." Buffy smiled as Willow walked back to the table, money in hand. She handed it to Buffy, and got her coat. Buffy looked at the bills in a fairly confused way. "Willow? Did you pay at all? I counted it perfectly, I gave exact change . . . ?"
"I know," Willow said as Tara got up, "I spit the bill with you." She smiled smugly, but Buffy frowned. "What? I don't get to pay? It was MY life she saved, you know!" she laughed, and the two witches led the way out of the Diner. As they walked they talked about less Slayer-esk things, and simply about school. Tara, it turned out, was going to be a History Major with a minor in literature. When asked why, she said it was because she loved history, it was all these people that were living their lives and had created a time that then became the past. As for the literature, she enjoyed reading and writing.
As they got back to Campus, they waved Tara off as she headed for her own dorm, and the two new girl-friends headed further down the path to Stevenson. Buffy told Willow that she didn't need to tell Tara about their being together, because she'd already known. Willow talked to Buffy about how glad she was that she was going to FINALLY have a magic partner again, and how excited she was that Tara would help her move past the Pencil-Floating stage. As they opened the door to their Dorm, both were shocked to find a tall blonde boy standing in the middle of their room, seemingly pacing.
"Riley . . ."
(To Be Continued . . . )
(Author's note: Wow, that took forever to type! Hope you all like it, and that you enjoy the mini cliffhanger. I hope to get back to more of my writing soon, though it may take a while, lots of crazy life stuff going on right now . . . PLEASE REVIEW! The more reviews, the more I want to write!)