Round Robin Chapter 22-Kirayoshi

["xenaslave2000 <xenaslave2000@xxxxxxxxx>" <xenaslave2000@xxxxxxxxx>]

Disclaimers;
Joss, Paramount, Mutant Enemy. Not me.

Rating; NC-17 for some language, lots of nudity, strong sexual 
content.

Tonight's episode features music by No Doubt.

Summary; Willow and Tara have a birthday surprise for Buffy.

Rising from the Wreckage Chapter 22
By Kirayoshi


Truth or Dare
<<>>


"An electric back massager?" Tara arched her eyebrow in amused 
dismay at Willow's suggestion. "I dunno..."

"Okay," Willow lamented as she stirred the marinara sauce for the 
lasagna, "it was the best idea I could think of on short notice. Two 
weeks ago I wasn't sure I'd even be in town for Buffy's birthday 
anyway."

Tara heard the faint tinge of regret in Willow's voice, and 
instinctively stood behind her, slowly wrapping her arm around 
Willow's waist. "I'm just glad you came home, honey. I'm so glad 
you're back."

Willow turned her head to regard her lover with a smile and a 
kiss. "Me too, babe, me too."  
Reaching up with her finger, Willow tenderly traced the fading red 
mark where her cheek had been cut three days earlier. Tara had said 
little concerning her ordeal in Spike's crypt, and Willow and Buffy 
chose not to pressure her into talking about it. She had said that 
Faith had released her, but wasn't sure exactly why. She also 
revealed something she had overheard, a heated debate between Faith, 
Spike and Warren, regarding the blue disk that Buffy had found 
earlier in the week. Something about the 'First Gift of Exodus'.

When Willow thought about what Faith and Spike had subjected Tara to, 
anger had flared like a harbernero pepper lodged in her esophagus.  
But it was a pale ember compared to the white hot hatred that surged 
through Buffy. When she had informed Buffy about her abduction, itt 
was all that Tara could do to bodily restrain the Slayer from 
charging out the door as she vowed bloody vengeance on the rogue 
Slayer and the punk vampire. Buffy was intent on putting them down 
like mad dogs, but one look into Tara's pleading eyes convinced her 
to cool her head and her heels. Tara assured her that she was well, 
and that charging into the enemy's camp without a plan of action 
would be folly. Once again, Buffy had mused, Tara had taken on the 
role of the peacemaker, the voice of reason. And once again, Tara 
had surprised Buffy with the strength of will she demonstrated under 
such agonizing conditions.

Still, the kidnapping incident drove home to Willow how precious the 
love she held for both Buffy and Tara was, and how fragile any 
happiness could be, especially near the Hellmouth. She and Tara had 
privately resolved that night to do whatever it took to bring Buffy 
into their hearts and into their bed.

Turning away from Tara reluctantly, she lifted a wooden spoon to her 
lips to taste the sauce. She then offered the spoon to Tara, who 
still kept her arms around Willow's taut waist and sipped at the 
spoon.

"Hmm," Tara thought for a second. "Some more basil."

Willow tossed in a handful of freshly chopped basil and stirred as 
she pondered her current dilemma. "You're right, of course. An 
electric back massager isn't the best idea for a birthday gift for 
Buffy. Especially since..." she stalled for a moment, a sexy smile 
playing on her lips.

Tara nodded, her own smile matching Willow's. "Especially since the 
three of us are in love with each other. Yeah. Unfortunately 
Hallmark doesn't cover polyamorous relationships."

"Oh, I dunno," Willow giggled. "I saw a few at the grocery store the 
other day that said 'Happy birthday from the both of us'. Just not 
quite intimate enough for our purposes."

"My point exactly," Tara purred, leaning against Willow's back. The 
gentle pressure of Tara's breasts on her back, even fully clothed, 
never failed to ignite a fire in Willow's body. Tara leaned forward 
and placed her lips on Willow's ear, kissing and nibbling. "Okay, 
first we put the lasagna together, then sock it into the fridge 
before we bake it tonight. Then we'll head over to the mall and find 
a gift for her." She kissed Willow's earlobe lightly, sending 
shivers down Willow's neck. "We need to give Buffy something 
special, Willow," she whispered. "Something to let her know that she 
will always be loved."

"Yeah," Willow nodded, leaning back into Tara's body. She closed her 
eyes, daydreaming of Buffy's face, particularly her lips. "Tara?"

"Yeah, baby?" Tara whispered throatily.

"What's she like?"

"Buffy? Like what?"

"Like in bed, Tara. I plan on finding out soon enough, y'know, I 
just wanted to know what to expect."

Tara pursed her lips for a moment, lost in a sweet memory of her 
brief tryst with the Slayer. "Actually, Will, I'm not entirely sure."

Willow's brows shot up in surprise. Turning around within the 
circumference of Tara's arms, Willow faced her lover, a questing look 
in her eyes. "I thought that you two had..." she struggled to find 
the right words.

"Done the deed?" Tara volunteered, smiling as Willow's face suddenly 
matched her hair. Her heart always melted whenever she made Willow 
blush. "Truth to tell, Buffy and I only went part of the way."

"Really?" Willow asked, draping her arms over Tara's shoulders. "No 
shit?"

"I shit you not," Tara smiled sweetly, but there was no disguising 
the passion smoldering in her eyes. She leaned toward Willow, her 
lips straying against the redhead's. "Buffy and I only made it to 
third base. As in petting below the waist, and some nipple suckage."

"Oh, nipple suckage," Willow growled quietly, whispering against 
Tara's mouth. She planted a soft trail of faint kisses from Tara's 
lips to her left ear, leaving a sweet warm path in her wake. "Yours 
or hers?"

"Hers," Tara answered, melting into Willow's embrace. "She has the 
sweetest breasts, honey. Soft and firm, large but not too 
voluptuous, with the cutest pink nipples. Almost a pale coral."  
Tara's hands found their way under Willow's shirt and began tracing 
lazy circles on her back.

"Hey, I've seen her naked before, y'know," Willow purred, thoroughly 
enjoying Tara's ministrations. "I used to be her roomie, remember?  
Of course, that was before I considered the possibility of jumping 
her bones."

"Trust me, Willow," Tara giggled, as her hands traveled lower down 
Willow's back and toward her derriere, "her bones are definitely 
jumpable. And she's such a good kisser, babe, so passionate, so 
loving...mmm," Tara hummed with pleasure as Willow's hands trailed 
down her shoulders and cupped her breasts. "And her lips were so 
sweet, so soft-" She lost the power of speech as Willow's lips sought 
her own, melding into a searing kiss.

The incessant buzz of the kitchen timer interrupted their tryst, and 
Willow reluctantly pried herself away from Tara's arms and reduced 
the heat under the marinara sauce. "Whew," she sighed, partly from 
relief that she didn't burn the sauce, and partly from arousal from 
Tara's touches. "That tears it," she vowed silently. "Tonight, 
after the birthday party, we do not let Buffy go to bed alone!"

"There's a good idea for a birthday gift," Tara agreed, smiling 
wickedly. "Between the two of us, we give her the best sex she's 
ever had."

"From what she's told me about Riley," Willow nodded, "that won't be 
difficult."

Tara's eyes turned toward the floor as she sat down at the breakfast 
table. "If we can only convince her to let us love her. I mean, 
we've kissed, we've cuddled, we've opened up about our love for each 
other, but she's still a little skittish about crossing that line."

Willow nodded knowingly at her lover. "You mean sex? Well, she's 
been burned before. With her past relationships, with Angel, Riley, 
especially with-" she cringed as she spat out the name, "Spike. All 
her past lovers either betrayed her or just left her."

"We'd never do that," Tara answered vehemently. "I love you both so 
much. I desire you both. And I know you want her as much as I do."

Willow walked back to where Tara was sitting and wrapped her again in 
her arms. "You know that," Willow smiled as she nipped Tara's 
ear. "And I know that. And tonight, Buffy's gonna know that."

Tara smirked slightly as she recognized the earthy tones that 
suffused Willow's voice, the sexual energy that made her skin 
positively glow. "You have a plan then, Willow?"

"Ooh yeah," Willow growled as she maneuvered her face toward Tara's 
for another kiss. "And it's hella better than an electric back 
massager."

<<>>

The birthday party was in full swing, and for once in Buffy's life 
free of any unpleasant incidents. Xander and Anya brought the wine 
("Congratulations on your newfound ability to be tried as an adult," 
Anya greeted her sweetly as she entered the house) and gave her a 
gift card for the local video rental place. Giles presented her with 
a copper bracelet that he claimed was a good luck charm that had been 
passed down from his grandfather to his father to himself, and Tara 
confirmed that the bracelet possessed a faint aura of benevolent 
magic, perhaps a mild protection spell.

Dawn's gift was next, and she grinned knowingly as Buffy tore the red 
tissue paper off of the shoebox. Buffy opened the box, revealing a 
black leather fanny-pack. "It's just the right size for your stakes 
and a few vials of holy water," Dawn dimpled proudly as Buffy held 
the pack, "and check this out," she added, pointing to a Celtic Cross 
embroidered on the front of the pack in metallic blue-silver thread.

"It's nice, Dawnie," Buffy smiled, admiring the cross image, "but I 
don't know if just sewing a cross onto the pack will make it vamp-
proof."

"Maybe," Dawn demurred slightly. "That's why I hedged my bet and 
asked Father Brown over at St. Francis of Assisi to bless the pack 
for me."

Giles crooked an eyebrow toward Dawn. "Hmm, very clever, Dawn. No 
vampire or demon could withstand the touch of a blest object."

"Yeah," Dawn smiled, "I got the idea from watching Kevin 
Smith's 'Dogma'. George Carlin played that idiot priest who blessed 
his own golf clubs."

Buffy leaned forward and kissed her sister's forehead, causing Dawn 
to squirm slightly at the display of affection. "Thanks Dawnie," she 
said happily. "I know I'll be able to use this."

Buffy picked up the box with the names Willow and Tara on the tag, 
having saved it for last. Willow and Tara sat on either side of 
Buffy as she opened the gift. Willow felt a slight surge of anxiety, 
hoping that the Slayer didn't find their gift for her to be overly 
sentimental. Tara glanced at Willow for a second, her familiar and 
welcome gaze having its usual calming effect on Willow's nerves.  
Tara had assured Willow repeatedly that Buffy would enjoy her gift.

Buffy tore gently at the wrapping paper, lifted the lid, and marveled 
at the golden filigree heart locket inside. "Wow, guys," Buffy 
breathed, "this is beautiful." She opened the locket, revealing two 
small photographs. The photo on the left showed Tara with Buffy, 
both in swimsuits. Buffy remembered that day; the Scooby Gang had 
taken to the beach and enjoyed a rare day of relaxation before Buffy, 
Willow and Tara had started their sophomore year of college. The 
other photo was taken from a photo-booth at the mall, during their 
junior year at high school, the two of them exchanging a chaste 
kiss. Buffy smiled as she remembered her and Willow goofing off as 
the camera clicked their pictures.  

"This is lovely," Buffy announced joyfully, her voice thick with 
emotion as she took the necklace out of its box and fastened the 
clasp behind her neck. She admired the locket as it dangled on its 
chain, a lump forming in her throat. "Thanks, guys," she gushed, 
reaching her arms around their shoulders and pulling them into a warm 
shared embrace.

"Happy birthday, Buffy," Willow said gleefully, thoroughly enjoying 
the easy closeness she shared with her two loves. Tara nodded in 
agreement, also cherishing this contact. "If anyone deserves one," 
the blonde witch said solemnly, "it's you."

"Hear, hear," Giles agreed whole-heartedly, while Xander started to 
hum loudly and tunelessly a vague melody only later identified 
as 'Birthday' by the Beatles. When the others gaped at his 
performance, he shrugged his shoulders and said blankly, "Anyone can 
sing 'Happy Birthday to You', I wanted to be different."

"Okay guys," Buffy announced, pulling herself away from the two 
witches, standing up from the sofa and heading for the kitchen. She 
emerged with a carton of cookies'n'cream, announcing, "Who wants ice 
cream with their cake?"  

"Me, me, me," Xander chanted, a goofy grin splitting his face. Anya 
rolled her eyes in bemused tolerance at her fiancé's antics, while 
Giles and Dawn chuckled silently. Willow and Tara simply exchanged a 
secret smile together. As much as they enjoyed the company of their 
friends, they had been biding their time, waiting for the chance to 
be alone with Buffy. Then, Tara thought, catching the gleam of 
passion in Willow's eyes and knowing her lover's expression matched 
her own, the real party can begin.

After about an hour of cake-eating, friendly chatting and hearty 
laughter, Giles sat up from his customary seat in Buffy's living room 
and dusted cake crumbs off of his gray slacks. "Well, I must be 
going home, I'm afraid. I promised myself that I would put in some 
research time tonight. Perhaps find some significance in these so-
called Gifts of Exodus that Tara had mentioned." Approaching Buffy, 
he gave her a gentle, fatherly hug. "Many happy returns, Buffy."  

"Thanks, Giles," Buffy answered warmly as Giles walked out the door, 
recognizing the emotion behind his calm exterior. Giles wasn't a man 
to waste emotional displays; if he gave a fatherly hug, he meant it.  
He had once joked that the average Brit would "rather be mugged than 
hugged."

As Giles departed, Willow, seeing that the party was winding down, 
cast a sidelong glance at Xander. "Uh, Xander," she stage-
whispered, "about that-thing-we discussed earlier..."

"Ooh, right, that 'thing'," Xander nodded quietly, understanding 
lighting his features. "Hey, Dawn Corlione," Xander announced 
brightly, "how about Anya and I take you to see 'Lord of the Rings'-" 
Anya lifted her head suddenly, a protest forming on her lips, only to 
be stared down by Xander. "-and let your sister have some alone-time 
with Willow and Tara?" he directed this last statement to his 
girlfriend. Anya nodded reluctantly, her face relaxed into a 
resigned pout.

"Can I, Buffy?" Dawn turned to her sister, her eyes forming a silent 
plea. "Please, I'll be good, I promise."

"You sure about this?" Buffy asked. "I dunno, with Spike and Faith 
around. Especially what they did to Tara the other night..."

"Don't get too over-protective on us, honey," Tara cooed gently, 
placing a warm hand on her shoulder. Willow smiled in agreement, 
adding, "Xander can look after her, no problem." As she spoke, she 
set her lips in a firm line, her brow firmed and her eyes stared 
directly into Buffy's. This phenomenon was universally recognized by 
the rest of the Scooby Gang as her 'resolve face'. Buffy glanced 
back at Tara, only to find her features mirroring Willow's.

Sagging back into the couch, Buffy nodded, "I seem to have been 
outvoted." Dawn whooped gleefully, rushing to the closet to grab her 
coat.

"Don't worry about Dawn, Buffy," Xander assured the slayer, "I won't 
let her out of my sight."  

Anya shrugged non-committally at his vow; as much as she enjoyed the 
combination of Xander and darkened movie theaters, she didn't look 
forward to adding Dawn to the equation. She might end up having to 
watch the movie for once. "As long as no one expects me to spring 
for popcorn," she muttered sullenly.

"Not a problem," Buffy answered. She lifted herself off the couch 
and reached for her purse. Fishing out a twenty, she handed the 
money to Dawn, saying, "Popcorn's on me. And stick to well-lit 
streets, okay?"

"Will do, Buffy," Dawn leaned in quickly, giving her sister a peck on 
the cheek. "Have fun, girls. Don't do anything I-" She looked at 
the three women, noticing the secret glances that Tara and Willow 
were giving Buffy, and reddened slightly. "Uh, on second thought, 
forget I said anything." With that, she followed Xander and Anya out 
the door.

Willow stuck her head out the door, shouting, "Oh, Xander, make sure 
you guys get there good and early. Dawn likes to watch the trailers."

"Who doesn't?" Xander asked as he jumped into the car. Once the two 
women were in with him, he turned the ignition, and the car sped off 
into the night.

Willow closed the door, making sure to lock and latch it behind her, 
then turned to Buffy and Tara. Buffy sat on the sofa, her eyes 
roaming over Willow's form, taking in the subtle curves of her body, 
admiring the way her hair shined in the dim living room lights. A 
gulf of silence filled the room, as three lovers each sought each 
other's eyes, each wished to make the first move. The atmosphere 
seemed to carry an electric charge. The night was pregnant with 
possibilities.

Tara approached Willow, taking her hand in her own, and led her to 
the sofa, on either side of Buffy. "So, girls," Willow grinned as 
her arm found its way around Buffy's shoulder. "Here we are, the 
three of us alone." She started to stroke Buffy's shoulder through 
the fabric of her blouse, hoping that Buffy would get the subtle hint 
and lean into her touches. Although Buffy seemed to relax under her 
hand, she refused to take the initiative for herself. She wanted 
to. Gods, she wanted to. But that same familiar fear haunted her, 
holding her back. So close to what she desired and she was afraid to 
grasp it. Afraid to lose what she had in pursuit of something more.

Tara saw that fear working behind Buffy's eyes, could practically 
envision her neurons firing, sending warning signals to her mind.  
Time to break the ice, she reasoned. "Hey, guys," Tara eased her way 
into the suggestion, "you know what I've always wanted to do?"

Buffy glanced back toward Tara. "Bungee jumping?"

Tara smirked at the thought. "Please, just living in Sunnydale's 
extreme enough for me! I was thinking of something else." She 
paused for a beat, gauging Buffy's face for her reaction. "You guys 
ever play 'truth or dare'?"

Buffy's eyes widened until they were big as baseballs. "Uh, no, not 
me," Buffy admitted.

"Me neither," Willow added. She caught a secret signal from Tara's 
eyes, then added enthusiastically, "but it sounds like fun!"

Buffy glanced back and forth between the two witches, odd crooked 
little smiles on their faces. Tara reached out her hand to stroke 
Buffy's hair in slow gentle caresses. "Don't worry, honey," Tara 
soothed Buffy with her calming voice, "Willow and I would never do 
anything to make you uncomfortable. If you feel weird at any moment, 
just say the word and we'll stop. Okay?"

Buffy considered Tara's words, recognizing them as true. She rolled 
the words 'truth or dare' around in her head, tasting them, weighing 
them, getting used to the idea. Finally she said, "Why not?"

"Great," Willow dropped her hands in her lap, as Tara grabbed her 
purse and rifled through it. "Let's see," she murmured as she looked 
through her purse, "I know I had one in here, where-Ah, here it is," 
she called out triumphantly as she produced a single red die. "Okay, 
how do we want to do this, lowest number or highest number goes 
first?"

"Lowest?" Buffy asked Willow, who nodded quickly.

"Okay," Tara answered, "Lowest." She shook the die in her hand for a 
second, and threw it onto the sofa. A single white dot appeared on 
the top of the cube. Tara's face beamed as Willow smirked 
petulantly. "Looks like you go first." Willow then took the die, 
and rolled out a three. Buffy then rolled a four, establishing the 
order of turns.

"Before we go any further," Buffy suggested, "we should set up some 
ground rules. First, no dares involving life-threatening situations, 
or dangerous stunts. I mean I'm the Slayer, but you guys don't have 
that protection. Got it?"

"Fair enough," Willow answered.

"Sounds good," Tara agreed, tucking her feet under her legs in a 
comfortable lotus position. "Second, during the first turn, Willow 
challenges me, then Buffy challenges Willow and I challenge Buffy, 
then the second round we switch so everyone gives everyone else a 
challenge. Okay?" Buffy and Tara nodded their agreement.

"And one more rule," Willow offered, "if you fail to successfully 
answer the question or perform the dare, you have to do a double-dare 
in the next round. Okay?"

"Okay," Buffy and Tara chorused. "Now let's do it," Buffy turned to 
Willow to start the ball rolling.

Willow turned to the taller blond, smirking playfully. "Tara, truth 
or dare?"

Tara responded to Willow's challenge calmly. "Dare."

Willow pursed her lips in thought for a moment, then replied; "I dare 
you to take your clothes off, and spend the rest of the night 
completely naked, except for your panties."

Buffy stifled a chuckle at the faintly scandalized expression on 
Tara's face. There's no way Tara's gonna go through with this, she 
thought to herself. No way...

Tara's shocked features melted into a sexy smile. She stood up from 
the sofa, gave Buffy a knowing wink, reached for the hem of her t-
shirt and peeled the garment off, tossing it carelessly on the easy 
chair. Reaching around to her back, she unhooked her bra, which soon 
accompanied her shirt. Buffy and Willow stood in awe of the large 
firm breasts that spilled out of their confinement. She then kicked 
off her shoes and socks, slowly unbuttoned her fly and scooted out of 
her blue jeans, revealing her pale blue cotton panties. She resumed 
her seat, unashamed of her nakedness, a victorious smile lighting her 
face. For a moment, Buffy was reminded of the deli scene from 'When 
Harry Met Sally'. "I'll have what she's having," she quipped to 
Willow, who chuckled at the reference.

Both Buffy and Willow drank in the sight of the nude figure before 
them. Tara's breasts were larger than either Buffy's or Willow's, 
but were hardly like melons. They fit her frame perfectly, tipped 
with small firm nipples that stood out from pale brown aureoles. Her 
torso sloped gracefully toward the faintest vestige of a pot-belly, 
which made her body all the more attractive to Buffy. For a brief 
second, Buffy had wished that Willow hadn't allowed Tara to keep her 
panties on; deep within her body she felt a slowly growing heat 
rising, and with it a desire to see Tara entirely naked.

"Uh, Buffy," a quiet, yet insistent voice jarred her out of her 
reverie. Buffy blinked and turned toward Tara, who smiled 
serenely. "Your turn to ask Willow something."

"Uh," Buffy glanced at Tara, seeing a faintly hungry turn to her 
lips. She gulped slightly as she turned her attention to her best 
friend. "Truth or dare, Willow."

Willow hummed tunelessly for a second, then said, "Truth." Tara 
started to make a slight clucking sound with her tongue against her 
palette, causing Buffy to laugh lightly as Willow's face flushed 
further.

Buffy crooked an eyebrow in mock-condescension, then 
continued; "Okay, when did you first lose your virginity?"

Willow smirked slightly and rolled her eyes. "By 'losing my 
virginity' are we talking about my first sexual experience, or the 
first time someone gave me an orgasm, or what?"

Buffy literally did a double-take at Willow's question; she never 
heard Willow use the word 'orgasm' before. Somehow, hearing Willow 
talk so frankly about sex sent a slight tremor of pleasure through 
her thighs. Smiling, Buffy said, "For the sake of this particular 
discussion, loss of virginity shall be defined as penetration, and 
breaking of the hymen."

"Well," Willow chirped brightly, "then it was when I was five." Now 
Buffy gawked at Willow, her jaw wide open, while Tara squinted 
slightly in a dubious fashion. "I was climbing a picket fence and I 
slipped." Buffy winced in sympathetic pain at Willow's statement, 
while a part of her was disappointed that Willow's story wasn't 
particularly juicy.

Tara made a harsh buzzing sound with her throat. "Sorry, can't 
accept that one, Willow. You copped that line from 'Chasing Amy'."

"Oh, darn," Willow grimaced, angry at being discovered. "Okay, give 
me another question, a dare, something."

"Uh, uh, uh," Buffy grinned evilly, causing Willow to squirm in equal 
parts embarrassment and desire. "You'll get a double-dare during the 
next round. Sorry honey, we agreed on the rules."

Willow tried to scowl at Buffy but couldn't stifle the amused 
laughter at Buffy's sexy grin. "Hoist on my own petard," she 
quipped. She peered into Buffy's eyes for a second, seeing a 
smoldering light deep within them. Oh yes, Willow thought happily, 
she's so turned on by us! Tonight she's ours!

After recognizing Willow's delighted smile and the growing desire 
within Buffy, Tara regarded the Slayer with a challenging 
stare. "Buffy, truth or dare?"

Buffy considered the hungry eyes that stared at her and said somewhat 
timidly, "Better go with truth for now."

"Buffy," Tara asked calmly, "Before you and I made out last week, 
have you ever had any kind of..." she paused, seeking the apt 
word, "...physical experience with another woman?"

Buffy grimaced as the question was posed. She glanced back at 
Willow, and saw the worry that etched her brow with small 
ravines. "Well," she started, wringing her hands in her lap, "I've 
gone toe to toe with Dru more than once. And more than a few other 
female vamps..."

"Buffy, you're stalling," Tara quipped. "Is there something you want 
to share with the class?"

Buffy hung her head, measuring what she wanted to say to Tara, afraid 
of speaking the wrong words or conveying something that would be 
hurtful. Willow grasped Buffy's hand in her own, whispering in her 
ear, "It's okay, Buffy. You don't have to..."

"No, Will," Buffy turned toward her beloved, her eyes shining with 
half-formed tears. "She should know." Returning her gaze to Tara, 
she added, "It's just that after your abduction the other day..."

"Was it Faith?" Tara furrowed her brow, lowering her eyelids so Buffy 
couldn't read her eyes.

Buffy nodded sadly. "Faith. It was during my senior year at 
Sunnydale High when we first met her. You know about how a Slayer's 
called when the previous slayer dies, right?"

"When you 'died' at the Master's hands, before Xander and Angel could 
perform CPR, Kendra was called," Tara recited, remembering how Willow 
had explained the situation shortly after she first met Buffy. "And 
when Dru killed Kendra, Faith was called. I got that."

Buffy puffed a sigh of relief; at least she wouldn't have to explain 
the details of Faith's calling. "Well, when Faith first came to 
Sunnydale, I was kinda guarded around her. She was so uninhibited, 
so free, and that kinda put me off at first. She kept on me to 
lighten up, to 'find the fun', and I didn't know if I could trust 
her, but at the same time I wanted so much to be like her. Anyway, 
after the Council forced Giles to 'test' me, they sent Wesley to 
replace him as my Watcher. I wasn't having any Watcher except Giles, 
though, and I rebelled in any way I could against Wes."

"The fact that he screamed like a woman didn't help his case any, 
either," Willow grinned showing her dimples, which helped put Tara at 
ease.

"That night," Buffy continued soberly, "Faith and I patrolled 
together, and we took on a fat vamp called Balthazar. Sort of a 
Jabba the Vamp. During the patrol, we hit the Bronze at one point.  
I wanted to just sit and relax for a moment, but Faith had other 
ideas. She took my hand and led me to the dance floor, and we danced 
together. And we were hot out there. I felt the beat hit me from 
the speaker system, and it ruled me. It took me over, and I 
surrendered to it, to her. To Faith. We gyrated close, real close, 
and we radiated pure sex on the floor. I looked into her eyes and 
saw her desire. She was a jungle cat in heat.

"After our session on the dance floor, I had to get out for some 
air. I ran out of the Bronze and into the nearest alley. Faith 
followed me, keeping close, letting my body feel her heat. She 
leaned into me, into my back, and the next thing I knew, her hands 
were inside my bra. And I didn't care. I'd have done anything to 
keep feeling her hands on me. I was hers, and she knew it. She 
started caressing me, her hands sliding lower and lower, until they 
started to slip beneath the top of my jeans." Buffy stopped telling 
her story and poured some wine into a nearby glass and took a sip.

After a tense silence, Willow asked suddenly, "And then what 
happened?"

Buffy's shoulders sagged slightly. "And then three vamps crashed the 
alley, and we went back on full Slayer mode. I mentally filed away 
what had happened in the alley for later, maybe to ask Faith why she 
wanted to seduce me-maybe even see if she wanted to take things 
further. Unfortunately, things went south that night, and-" she 
stalled, balling her hands into tight fists. "Faith accidentally 
killed someone, Allan Finch. And the next day, she had covered her 
tracks, erased all the evidence and acted like it didn't happen. I 
confronted her, and she said, 'No, you don't get it, I don't care'!"  
She lifted her glass, taking a deep draught of wine in one 
gulp. "That's when I realized that the Faith I thought I knew, the 
Faith I thought I wanted, was pure fiction. I saw the real Faith for 
the first time that morning. And I was ashamed of what she had done 
to me. So I never talked about it since then." Feeling Willow's 
hand squeeze hers, Buffy sniffed back her tears. "And I'm so sorry 
that I never told you before, Willow."

"Don't be, babe," Willow suddenly let go of Buffy's hand, and wrapped 
her arms around Buffy's shoulders, hugging her fiercely. "Just 
remember, you don't have to shoulder the burdens alone anymore.  
You've got us."

Tara leaned forward in her seat, regarding Buffy with eyes wide with 
concern and compassion. "She's right, Buffy. I wouldn't want to 
relive my run-in with Faith and Spike, but you needed to let it out."

"What is it about me and bad girls-slash-guys?" Buffy asked 
dejectedly. "Angel, Faith, then Spike. You'd think I'd know better 
by now."

"You do," Willow whispered, moving her lips up to Buffy's ear and 
blowing, sending shockwaves of arousal through Buffy's system.  
Already she could feel her panties getting moist. "You're with us 
now, after all, not them."

"Yeah," Buffy replied, squirming delightedly under Willow's 
treatment. "And the next time I see Faith, I'm gonna have words with 
her for what she did to you, Tara."

Tara's expression shifted; her smile faded and her brows knitted. "I 
don't know what her story is right now, Buffy. I'm not entirely sure 
who's side she's on. I don't think she knows really. I sensed 
something within her that night. She's at war with herself. Promise 
me something, Buffy, when you do see her next time, let her speak 
first."

Buffy clenched her jaw tightly for a second, before releasing it and 
shaking her head in exasperation. "Okay, Tara. Just for you, 
though. And Willow." Buffy, Willow and Tara sat silently for a 
moment, each alone in their thoughts, but as they looked into each 
other's eyes, they somehow communicated their hearts, in a way far 
more profound than simple speech.