' Just get yourself out girl... Just get yourself out...'
No such luck. The truck suddenly jerked wildly. Outside Faith could hear horns and screeching. Then the truck tipped. It fell over sideways and Faith tumbled headfirst into the wall. The truck skidded about a hundred feet and barrelled into a thick and ancient tree trunk, which stopped it dead. The back doors crashed open, and Faith lurched out. All she could think of at the moment was getting away from the site before anyone found it; and that seemed like a good idea. But once on the hard cold ground, Faith found she couldn't get herself back up. So she crawled. She dug her nails into the freezing earth and pulled herself along it. It was night, and she couldn't see anything, so she simply collapsed when she found soft grass and let the darkness take her over.
Midday warmed everthing. This included Tara, as she walked along a faintly trodden path into the woods. She walked briskly for once, for there was no one around her and she felt safe. She only wished Willow had not had a previous engagement with her friends, so she could be there too. Tara was headed towards her place of power, a small clearing where the energies flowed strong and harmoniously. It was a secret she had kept ever since she was little; her mother used to take her there.
Obviously not such a secret, or there wouldn't be someone sleeping there.
Tara froze when her eyes fell on the sleeping form, curled up in a tight little ball in the grass. There was something familiar about her, but not in her face. That wasn't Tara's primary concern though when she saw the blood on the ground. She knelt by the unconscious girl and rolled her on her back. It was trickling sluggishly down her forehead and she was bruised badly. Judging from the puddle, she had lost quite a bit of blood. But she was still breathing. Tara began to chant,
" Goddess of life, Goddess above, send her your healing, send her your love."
It happened slowly at first. The stream of blood slackened, then stopped. The bruises faded a bit. Then the gash closed entirely. By the time Tara fell forward, just barely catching herself on her hands, out of breath and weary, the other girl was looking almost as good as new. Tara smiled, a sense of rare pride swelling inside her, and then she slumped down to the earth beside Faith. She slept.
" Why am I not leaving...?" Faith asked, cursing herself under her breath.
Staying in Sunnydale, for whatever reason, was always trouble. But what? Just leave her there? She knew who the girl was; it was Red's little witchy bed-buddy. Tia or something. She also knew that Tia-Or-Something had healed her. Slayers recoup quick, but not that quick without help. And Faith was certain she'd broken bones that weren't broken now. There was a little stabbing, tingly sensation when she tried anything really strenuous, but other then that Faith was five by five.
Faith hated having debts, so it was give-the-witch-a-hand time.
The dark Slayer looked down. Tia-Or-Something was opening her eyes. She blinked twice, then looked up.
" Hi..." she mumbled.
" Um, hi," Faith responded. She held out her hand.
Hesitantly, the witch took it and Faith pulled her to her feet.
" I'm glad you're feeling better," she said shyly. " Um, I'm Tara."
Tara. That was it. " Uh, yeah, I'm... Caitlyn," Faith lied. " Listen, you look pretty weak. Why don't you let me take you home?"
Tara smiled a little. " Thanks..." she said. " Um, this way."
Faith let Tara lean against her as they walked in the direction the witch had pointed. As they walked, Faith thought to herself, 'Caitlyn? What the fuck kinda name is that?'
" Well, uh, this is it."
Faith pushed the door open and helped Tara limp ino her room. Once she was safely flopped on to her bed, the dark Slayer took a look around.
" Nice place, got the whole 'Double Double Toil and Trouble' thing going," she remarked, regarding the spice rack on the wall.
Tara didn't really know how to respond, so she just curled up on her bed, watching Faith perform her inspection.
" Um, so, how'd you end up in the clearing?" she asked.
Faith shrugged. " Dunno. Was in a nasty accident... happened really fast. Crawled away from the wreckage and ended up where ever you found me. Thanks for the help, by the way."
" Huh?" Tara replied, faking ignorance.
" You know, the whole witchy thing. I, uh, heard you chanting." Faith hoped she had been chanting.
" Oh... Are you... cool with it?"
" No problems here, I'm five by five."
Tara looked confused. " What does that mean?"
Faith thought. Then she sat down on the bed and grinned at Tara. " I have no idea," she said. They both laughed.
Tara glanced at her window. It was getting dark outside, and the sky had turned a deep violet, edging towards blackish-blue. She turned back to Faith.
" You should probably get home or something, shouldn't you?" the witch asked.
Faith looked away, at the ceiling, then the floor. " Ah, I don't really have anyplace to go..."
" You can stay here."
" Wha?" Faith questioned, stunned.
" You helped me... so you can stay... if you want," Tara said, shyly blushing.
Faith was at a loss for words. " But... I... It was only... I mean..."
Tara laughed softly. " Just say thank you."
" ... Thank you..."
Tara smiled warmly.
So did Faith.
In the wee hours of the morning, Faith woke up. It was a usual thing for her, wake up in time to bolt before somebody decides to either kick you out or make you breakfast. She remembered where she was and why both she and the girl next to her were fully clothed after a few seconds.
" And now, Faith my girl, it's time you scram," she whispered to herself.
She couldn't though. For some reason, her body wasn't responding to the commands to get up and haul ass. Instead she just looked at Tara; Tara who was so peaceful and cute when she slept.
" Man... Bet Red gets to see this all the time... Lucky bitch," she muttered in admiration.
Then she turned over, so her back was to Tara, and snuggled up under the blankets. In the silence, she heard Southern California's trick weather bouncing off the roof and window. 'Springtime is here,' she thought dryly. It gave her an excuse to stay though, one that her subconscious would buy. Faith closed her eyes, and, with the rain and Tara's gentle breath, fell asleep.
" Wake up Caitlyn," Tara whispered in Faith's ear as she shook the dark Slayer gently.
" Ugh... wha's up?" Faith mumbled groggily.
" Well... it's ten o'clock, and I don't wanna make the bed around you," she replied with her uncertain smile. It broadened when Faith grinned back.
" Point taken. You got any grub around here?"
Tara pointed to the small refrigerator in the corner. " There's some fruit and veggies in there..."
She was cut off. " No, I mean FOOD," Faith stated. " Like breakfast meats and sticky gooey stuff." She shook her head disappointedly after reviewing the contents of Tara's fridge. " You're one of those veg-heads aren't you? That's it, we're going out. C'mon."
Faith knew that roaming the streets was a very very bad idea. Any number of people she really did not want to see could be out, but she had this strange desire to take Tara out. The shy little witch sure didn't look like she got out much. Maybe it was just because she wanted to take what Willow had, but for some reason, in the back of her head, Faith doubted it. The idea of making Tara happy seemed to be appealling. 'Faith you sap,' she thought as she grabbed Tara's hand and dragged her out the door.
They found a small diner not too close to the busy part of town, and Faith, with the little money she had aquired in a routine mugging, she brought them both breakfast. Tara watched her with disbelief as she wolfed down eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, about four pancakes, and a whole pot of coffee. Like she hadn't eaten for months. Tara herself only had one strawberry waffle. When she didn't even finish that, Faith nodded towards it.
" You gonna eat that?"
Tara couldn't help but smile. She shook her head, and Faith inhaled the remains of the waffle too.
" Ah..." Faith stated afterwards.
" Satisfied?" Tara asked her meekly, as though she was afraid Faith would consume her too.
Faith nodded vigorously. " In the food way, yes."
" Huh?"
Faith leaned back against the smooth faux-leather of the booth and sighed. " I haven't gotten laid in days. You're lucky you don't have that problem..."
The dark Slayer stopped abruptly, remembering that she wasn't supposed to know anything about Tara.
But she seemed safe because, from the look on Tara's face, that was something even the shy witch didn't seem to know about. She just gawked at Faith in a stunned, shocked awe. Faith knew the feeling; you were hearing something you knew you weren't supposed to be interested in, but you were anyway. In her experience, it had come up a lot with the objects of her lust. That was when being dead sexy came in handy. You could sway someone's inhibitions no matter what most of the time.
But back to reality.
" What... do you mean...?" Tara asked quietly.
" Oh, well, I mean you probably have someone who's willing roll on the sheets with you. Hell, you're a great girl, you probably have some chick who loves you..."
" I'm... not like that."
It was soft enough for Faith to doubt her entirely. Then:
" Are you?"
Tara was looking at the dark Slayer intently, fear in her passive eyes, but also buried curiousity. She didn't think she was gay, but something about that topic sparked her interest in a way she couldn't explain. A certain dazzling redhead popped quickly in and out of her mind, causing an involuntary bit of color to rise in her cheeks. Faith saw it and smirked. She felt like she knew Tara inside and out. Tara was, under it all, just as willing-but-confused as every other girl she'd ever fucked.
There was a difference between Tara and the others though.
" Yeah," dragged Faith slowly, carefully plotting out her response. " I sleep with guys sometimes... but they're just not the same." A grin spread across her face. " And girls really know girls, if you get what I'm saying."
The expression on Tara's face was priceless, and Faith would have killed for a camera.
" C'mon girlfriend, you must have thought about it before," the dark Slayer pushed.
Tara fidgeted. " Well... yeah, I guess... but I'm not gay..."
Now she was just convincing herself; and not doing a very good job of it.
Faith left the money for the meal and the tip on their table and got up. To Tara's questioning gaze, she replied with a head-jerk towards the outside world. Then she made she way out of the diner, the shy witch following behind. She followed Faith around the corner, to the side of the building, where there were no windows, and no one could see them. Faith turned quickly on her heel, and Tara froze behind her. The dark Slayer was fast as lightning.
So before Tara knew what was happening, Faith had her trapped against the hard brick wall and was kissing and kissing and kissing her hard. Mouth forced mouth open, velvet tongue battled for entrance and invaded. It was rape of the lips, but to Tara's surprise, she had no objections. Heat rose between them. Tara felt a hand, not rough but firm in it's intentions, tracing her shoulder, then cupping her neck, then on the curve of her breast. It was all so much. Her senses couldn't take any more.
Fortunately, Faith ran out of air.
They stared at each other's eyes for a minute and half until Tara unexpectedly broke the silence.
" Do you want to go back to my room?"
The difference between Tara and everyone else was that Faith didn't want to fuck Tara.
Faith wanted to make love to her.
In the alley, that had been the seduction. Something to ignite her and get her willing. But now, all Faith wanted to do was show Tara what beautiful she was. At first, when they slid on to the bed together, lips locked, the dark Slayer could think only of Buffy's boy, Riley, and the tenderness he possessed during the deed. She wanted to give that to Tara, to make her first real experience special, though why she couldn't for the life of her figure out. Tara was just another girl, and what's more, she was Red's girl, even if she didn't know it. Faith felt as though she should be trying to ruin the shy witch's life.
The more clothing that fell away, however, the less Faith questioned her motives.
Tara was sweet, adorable; the innocence and virginity mixed with equal parts of passion. This was a girl with pent up energy that even she herself didn't know about. In fact, at first Faith thought she would change her mind, because the fierocity with which Tara tore at Faith's clothing shocked the shy witch at first. But no. Tara would go through with it. It felt so right, to be doing that, like that. Faith touched, teased, seduced her senses one by one.
And when Tara climaxed, they both felt beautiful. It was overwhelming, but neither slept afterwards. They lay on Tara's bed into the early morning, still partially entangled with each other. And as they lay there, they wept.
Tara wept for her own foolishness. She had tried so hard to be what the world expected her to be, but in that had denied herself happiness in the process. Now, in the arms of a woman... Faith, yes, that was it. She did recognize Faith, who she had been warned time and again about. It was Faith who had opened up a new world to her. The world where she belonged. And Tara wept again with joy.
Faith cried too. Her silent tears streamed down her face, because she had been shown something new as well. She was in love with Tara. The shy witch radiated so much kindness and purity, how could she have not fallen? It was the very presence that Faith had never had in her life and so desperately desired. The tears served another purpose though. Faith cried for loss. In their passion, she had seen something in Tara that she could not mistake.
Tara was Willow's. And she was powerless to change it.
Finally Tara fell asleep at sunrise. When she did, Faith removed herself, found her clothes, and disappeared. God, that seemed familiar. Maybe the world was out to screw her after all. Among other things that morning, she contemplated leaving it. No, she decided. But she was getting out of Sunnydale for good. First though... she had been shown too much there since waking up that she couldn't leave without doing something to good first. It wouldn't nearly make up for anything, but she had to try.
She walked in the unlocked door.
" Hi Will."
Willow jerked to her feet, leaping off the bed. " What the hell do you want?" she attempted to growl.
" Just shut up and listen Red." No. Bad Faith, be nice. " It's about your friend, Tara."
Willow's eyes showed her terror. " WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HER?!!?" the redhead screamed, charging at Faith and tackling her with all her might.
But Willow was no Slayer, and soon Faith had her pinned beneath her sinewy body. " Look, I know you have no reason to hear me out, but just listen! I didn't hurt her! I swear it."
Willow shut up. Faith continued.
" I wouldn't hurt her... She's probably the most wonderful thing on this planet. I'm sure you already know that... And I wish that I could get a second chance... and be with her... maybe things would be different for me. But that can't happen, because every time I look in her eyes, I see your face in the reflection, not mine. So I'm here to tell you to go see her, right now, before she closes herself up again. She's afraid Willow, and you have to tell her she's not going to get hurt before she lets her fear get in the way and doesn't let you in. For once, you just gotta trust me."
Willow said nothing. Faith stood up, and looked down on her, her dark eyes soft finally. Then she blinked and walked to the door.
" Wait."
Faith poked her head back in the room.
" Thank you."
The dark Slayer didn't respond, but Willow hadn't expected her too. The redhead waited a few minutes before heading to Tara's room, where she would find her friend just waking up; and Tara would make some soft comment about having to wake to see her dream before their lips met and ceased all speaking. And somewhere in the middle of that kiss, both would think of Faith, and wonder what she was doing.
Faith, by that time, would be in the back of a bus, crying her eyes out with no sound, waiting to be out of Sunnydale, and hoping it was never too late to start over again.