Simple Choices
by rebelrsr
Chapter 34
[reviews]
Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and lots of people in expensive suits. I'm not making any money here, just trying to create a happier Buffyverse for my favorite characters.
Spoilers: General spoilers for S5, starting with "The I in Team." Eh, who am I kidding? This is really AU now.
A/N: Thanks to Ivy for pre-reading and Zigpal, Lilly, and KK for the beta. There would be no writing without you guys.
Archiving: My own site - rebelrsr.com
The hairs on Tara's arms stood up at the sudden energy in the room. Faith's eyes glowed brightly, and her nostrils flared with each breath. "I know, sweetie. You and Buffy-"
"No!" The word exploded from Faith in a low growl. "We will protect you. The Other...she is for the red witch."
Tara's eyes widened. "The red witch? Do you mean Willow?" Suddenly, the change in Faith made sense. She wasn't talking to Faith. She was talking to the Slayer. Reaching out her hand, she pressed her palm to Faith's cheek and peered into the blazing copper eyes. Tara took a deep breath, heart pounding at the look in Faith's eyes. Warmth trickled through her, and she thought she felt ephemeral lips skim down her throat.
"Can you..." Goddess, it was hard to think. Her fingers sifted through the hair at Faith's temple, the soft strands sliding sensuously over her skin.
Faith moved closer until they pressed together from shoulders to hips. "Mine," the Slayer announced.
The word coincided with a new flare of power in the room. Mind trapped in the sheer presence of the Slayer, Tara only dimly realized the energy emanated from Faith. It wrapped around her like a blanket, soft, warm, and comforting. "Mine," she echoed dazedly. Faith was hers.
Drawn to the Slayer by unseen hands, Tara bent her head and pressed her lips to Faith's. Visible sparks lit the air around them.
***
Resting her head in her hands, Willow listened to Xander and Graham argue.
"We can't do that," Graham snapped. "It doesn't make sense to send all of the troops to the caves. What about the girls? You just want to leave them unprotected when Adam comes looking for Tara?"
"They aren't unprotected!" She could almost see Xander's glare. He was angry, voice rising in frustration. "You've worked with Buffy before. You know what she can do. Multiply that by two because Faith will be there, too. Take your men to the caves and make sure we don't get blindsided by demons."
This wasn't getting them anywhere. Opening her eyes a crack, Willow peered at Buffy. The boys would listen to Buffy. She nudged her girlfriend with her knee.
Buffy barely glanced at her before going back to examining her hands where they lay on the tabletop.
Fine. If Buffy was opting out of the General's shoes, she'd step into them. It was time to stop talking and start doing. "Stop it! Both of you!"
Xander and Graham turned to look at her.
"We've heard it all before. We need to make a decision and then find out what Tara has planned for the magical part of the show," Willow continued.
"We can't..." Graham wasn't ready to relinquish command.
Leveling a fully loaded Resolve Face at him, Willow held up her hand, palm out. "Stop!"
He did, eyes wide and shocked.
"Go back to campus. Grab the guys you think you can trust and as many weapons as you can find. We need you at the caves. If the demons get out before the explosion, you'll have to take them out. Whatever happens with Adam," Willow refused to even think about failing, "the demons can't run loose in town."
Xander nodded in agreement. "I've been trying-"
"You and Anya go with him, Xan." Willow didn't give him time to resurrect his argument with Graham.
"Will!" he protested.
Willow transferred her glare to her oldest friend. "You and Anya won't be much help in the Meadow, Xander. You can't help with either the magic or the Slaying." Then she relented, seeing the hurt expression on his face. "Xan, think. Tara and I are going to be busy lobbing energy bombs at Adam and trying to keep the Slayers from getting too out of control. Do you really want to be there if something goes wrong?"
Still not happy, Xander nonetheless shook his head. "No. No, I don't want to face Buffy if she goes all rampage-y." He grinned at Buffy. "It's the one Buffy that isn't in my fantasies."
He yelped when Anya smacked his arm.
"I'll save my smack for after the fight," Buffy promised, finger pointing at Xander. "You have your orders, Graham. General Willow has spoken."
Willow relaxed a little when warm fingers grasped hers under the table.
"Head out and get things set up. If Ry really is the professor's other creation, Adam may already know about the explosives. I don't want them to release the demons in the cells before we get there," Buffy went on.
Her tacit approval of Willow's plan started a flurry of activity. In minutes, Xander, Anya, and Graham were gone.
"OK, Will. Phase One is a go," Buffy grinned and winked. "What do you have for the rest of us?"
Maybe Anya had the right idea. Willow's palm itched to smack her girlfriend's arm. What was up with leaving her in charge?
Buffy must have sensed the imminent danger. She hopped out of her chair. "While you think up something brilliant, I'll go see if Tara and Faith are finished arguing." Nearly trotting, Buffy moved toward the kitchen door.
***
Mentally reminding herself not to push Willow too far, Buffy shoved the door open. She took three steps into the living room before the scene in the room actually made sense. "Whoa!"
Tara and Faith were locked in a tight embrace and kissing.
Eyes wide, Buffy simply stared. This hadn't been part of the plan. It was just supposed to be one night. Faith didn't do long term. Buffy looked closer at the couple. Or...maybe she hadn't done long term until now.
Her Slayer rumbled in agreement. Faith had mated. She wouldn't leave Tara under any circumstances.
"Uh, I hate to interrupt..." Buffy said, trying to tear her eyes away from the increasingly intimate display across the room.
Faith and Tara didn't stop. In fact, Faith's hands were sliding under Tara's shirt.
Buffy spun around. She was not watching this. Then she realized this wasn't getting Faith or Tara into the kitchen. Slowly, Buffy turned back to the action. Faith was fast. Tara's shirt was completely unbuttoned and slipping off her shoulders. "Guys!" she called out, using more volume than the last time.
They still weren't stopping.
Desperate to keep Tara's bra in place, Buffy stuck both pinky fingers into her mouth and whistled.
The groping came to an abrupt end as Faith and Tara spun in Buffy's direction.
"Uh...hi!" Buffy waved awkwardly and tried to keep her eyes above shoulder level. "We have a plan. Think you could join us in the kitchen?"
She took a quick step back when Faith growled, "How long you been standing there, B?"
Buffy bared her teeth in a wide smile. "Not long. You know...just came out of the kitchen. I didn't see a thing." She kept her eyes locked on Faith, tensing for an attack. Faith's eyes were copper-toned, only a hint of their normal brown bleeding through.
"You're full of shit, B." Faith took a step in Buffy's direction then stopped when Tara gripped her arm.
"Easy, sweetie," Tara murmured. As Buffy watched, some of the copper faded from Faith's eyes.
Trying not to look relieved by Tara's save, Buffy spread her hands out in a gesture of surrender. "I didn't mean to look, Faith. Really. You were just kinda involved and...well..." Shrugging, Buffy moved on. They'd wasted enough time on this, and she didn't want Willow to come looking for her. "Can we just get everyone dressed and into the kitchen?"
"We'll be right there, Buffy," Tara said softly.
Buffy accepted the quiet dismissal and fled for the safety of the other room.
***
Watching her go, Faith started to laugh. "I ain't never seen her blush like that. You think her and Red need lessons?"
She grunted when Tara smacked her in the stomach. "That's not nice." Then Tara giggled. "She did look a little stunned, didn't she?"
"Fuck yeah." Grinning up at Tara, Faith began rebuttoning Tara's shirt. "Sorry if you were embarrassed, Blondie," she mumbled. "I-"
"I'm fine, Faith." Tara stroked Faith's cheek. "Flashing Buffy wasn't really on my mind. You were."
Faith didn't relax. "And the Slayer thing?" She could still feel the Slayer on alert; although, she was back in control.
Tara took her hand and started for the kitchen. "Was I here by myself? I thought the nearly public sex was a dead give away."
Now Faith relaxed. "That? That had nothing to do with the Slayer," she boasted. "That was all me. I been telling the Superfriends since I got here: I got mad skills."