FIC : "Of Stakes & Spells" 16/?

["satanslilangl" <satanslilangl@xxxxxxxxx>]

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= = = (*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!)