(no subject)
//Firewalled to Everyone//
I woke up and wasn't able to get back to sleep, so I went to the kitchen to fix myself some Chamomile tea. That always seems to help me fall asleep.
Faith came in from patrolling while I was there.
Faith: *walks into the warehouse, heading to the kitchen for a snack after patrol. She straps her knife back to her boot, wincing as she gets back up*
Tara: *sits at the table in the kitchen, drinking some tea and flipping through a magazine*
Faith: *grabs the rest of her sandwich from the other day and sits at the table, trying not to disturb Tara*
Tara: *looks up, seeing Faith sit down* Hey there. *small grin*
Faith: *smiles back, finishing a mouthful of sandwich* Shouldn't you be cuddlin' Red?
Tara: *grins, closing her magazine* I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I didn't wanna disturb her, so I came down here. *motions towards cup* I thought some tea might help with the sleep issue.
Faith: *nods* Beats the hell outta sleepin' pills... So, why the lack of sleep? Bad dreams?
Tara: *shakes her head* No, not really. Sometimes I have issues with sleeping. *shrugs* I always have. So I usually get some tea, either sit in here and drink it or sit outside in the garden and look at the stars. *takes a sip of her tea*
Faith: They look pretty wicked tonight. The stars, I mean. *takes another bite of her sandwich* Vamps are out like crazy too.
Tara: I take it that means you're just coming back from patrol? *looks at her closer, noticing she's slightly roughed up* A-are you hurt Faith? You look a little beat up.
Faith: *shrugs, wincing a little* I didn't have my gameface on. I needed to rough somethin' up.
Tara: *looks concerned* D-do you need anything? I think there's a first aid kit in here. *gets up, starts looking through the drawers*
Faith: Tara... Calm down. I'm just bruised and shit, I'm sure. *she lied through her teeth, glad Tara couldn't see the tear in the back of her jacket*
Tara: I know I saw one in here. *continues looking* And I think it might be worse than just bruising Faith. That tear in your jacket being the indicator. *turns and looks at her briefly before continuing her search*
Faith: *blinks* How'd you know about that? *shifts uncomfortably*
Tara: See I knew there was one here. *holding up the first aid kit* I read your mind Faith, I could hear your thoughts. *laughs* How do you think I knew? I looked up when you went to the refrigerator, you had your back to me and I saw it. *brings the first aid kit back over to the table* Now, let's see the damage.
Faith: *sighs, carefully stripping off her jacket and shirt* Well, I can't see it. But the fucker ruined a damn nice jacket. *grumbles*
Tara *looks at her back, seeing the deep cut* W-well, I'm no doctor, but it doesn't look like it needs stitches. Let's get it cleaned and bandaged up and I'm sure it will be okay. *smiles softly, opening the first aid kit, taking out some gauze, ointment and tape*
Faith: *smiles softly* Thanks, Tar. It ain't like me, but I got a lot on my mind, y'know?
Tara: *nods, smiling softly* I know you do. *kneels down, opening an alcohol pad* This m-might burn a little. *starts wiping the wound softly with the pad* But I need to clean the blood off.
Faith: *bits her lip, but doesn't say anything* Did you get a chance to talk to Will about the car? *manages, shivering from the cool air the alcohol left on her back*
Tara: *lays the used alcohol pad on the table, opens the ointment, squirts some on her finger and rubs it gently over the cut* I did. She said she had no problems with you driving the car.
Faith: *grins to herself* Sweet. *raises her eyebrow* Anyone ever tell you you have gentle hands?
Tara: I j-just don't want to hurt you *removes the gauze from its packaging and places it over the wound, pressing it down gently* See, you didn't have to steal the car after all. I told you she wouldn't mind. *tapes the gauze in place and stands back up* And I think you're all done. *grins*
Faith: *rolls her back out slightly* Yeah well, stealin's more fun. *turns around to grin at Tara* I gotta keep my bad streak somewhere.
Tara: *shakes her head, laughing* Some things never change. *gathers up the used packages and crosses the kitchen to throw them away*
Faith: *finishes her sandwich* Can't be completely different. Still a wicked flirt, and a hint of a criminal.
Tara: No one's asking you to be different Faith.*smiles, replacing the first aid kit back into the drawer* Just be yourself. *sits back down at the table*
Faith: Hey, myself got me in a lotta trouble, Tara. *shakes her head*
Tara: No, that was you trying to be the image you wanted to project. *taking a sip of her tea* It was you trying not to be yourself.
Faith: Guess you could call that extreme, huh? Which in a way, is me. Never do anythin' vanilla. *grins*
Tara: *grins back* I wouldn't call it extreme, no. I would just call it being afraid to face yourself, afraid to feel, maybe. But not extreme.
Faith: *takes a deep breath* Think about it, Blondie. I held Red at knifepoint, and killed two people. Tried to kill B, and Angel for that matter. I was a fuckin' saint. *suddenly wishes she had a beer in her hand, that would make this easier*
Tara: That's not who you are now though. No matter how hard you try to regain...*pauses, trying to think of how to phrase what she wants to say* that, um, old glory, so to speak, you can't. You've changed. And no matter how hard you fight it, it's the truth, plain and simple.
Tara: You seem to feel you have this reputation to uphold. What you don't realize is that people will accept you and love you for who you are.
Faith: I hate it when you make sense. *smiles playfully* I should find me a girl like you. Or guy, or five...
Tara: I'm just trying to show you that you don't have to be afraid of who you are. You don't have to be the "bad slayer" around me. Or around anyone here for that matter. You are a good person Faith, if we didn't see that, do you think you'd be here? Do you honestly think that people around here would trust you? *raises her eyebrow, looking at her seriously* Do you think Giles would have given you as much responsibility and authority if he didn't believe in you?
Faith: *visibly lets this set in, then shakes her head* No.
Tara: *smiles softly, trying to meet her eyes* We all believe in you. Now you have to believe in yourself. No one expects you to be perfect Faith. If you fall, you have friends here who will pick you back up. Friends who will stand by you and support you completely.
Faith: Hey, baby, I already fell. This is the brushin' off my knees part.
Tara: I get that. But the important part is, you don't have to go through it alone anymore.
Faith: That, however, is one thing I don't think is gonna change for awhile. I may be helpin' but I work better on my own.
Tara: *nods* And that's you. There's nothing wrong with that. Just don't close yourself off. *smiles* There's no rush Faith, you can't change overnight. It sometimes takes a lot of small steps to get to your destination.
Faith: *smirks* You should write a book... But I appreciate what you're sayin'
Tara: I don't know about a book. *slight grin* I just try to be honest and tell you how I see things. I think you're making great effort and progress. Never let anyone begrudge you that.
Faith: *grins* You got it, Tar. *bites her lip, angry that she could satisfy the hungries, but not the hornies* I... think I'm gonna head to bed. But, thanks for everything.
Tara: *nods, smiling* Anytime Faith. You know that. And yeah, I should probably think about going to bed myself.
Faith: *stands up, throwing the baggie away and moving a little closer to Tara* Do I... hug you or... How the fuck does that go? *shifts her eyes, trying to mask her uncomfortable feeling with desire*
Tara: *stands up, smiling slightly at the ackwardness Faith's displaying* You don't have to do anything you aren't comfortable with Faith. Like I said, just be yourself. If you want to hug me, then hug me. If not, I don't expect you to. It's not a requirement, more of a personal choice perse. *grins*
Faith: Heh. I've always been fuck 'em to say thanks. But again, not wantin' to feel Red's wrath. *grins, clapping a hand on Tara's shoulder* Thanks for bein here... *pauses* For bein' my friend.
Tara: *blushes slightly at her comment* You're welcome Faith. *moves her hand up to cover the one on her shoulder, squeezing lightly* As I've said before, I'm always here. *smiles softly, looking her in the eyes*
Faith: *looks back into her eyes* Yeah, Red's got a keeper. *grins, fighting the urge to just kiss Tara*
Tara: *blushes, grinning back* S-So, um, share the elevator up to the 8th floor? Since we're both going that way and all.
Faith: *nods slowly* Sure... If you trust bein' alone with a horny Slayer.
Tara: *blushes profusely, eyes grow wide* O-oh, um, w-well.....*nervously pushing her hair behind her ear, struggling to think of something to say*
Faith: *grins* I thought so... I'll take the stairs.
Tara: *shakes her head* N-n-no, y-you don't have t-to. Um....*looks around, still blushing* h-how bout you go ahead and t-take the elevator, a-and...*take a breath* I'll, uh, g-get the n-next one. *tries to force a smile*
Faith: The shy thing? It's wicked cute. *picks up her jacket and shirt off the table and turns, heading towards the door to the stairs*
Tara: *trying to regain her composure, she heads towards the elevator*
Oh Goddess, that really caught me off guard. I know Faith's always flirty with everyone, but that type of attention always makes me so nervous. I never understand why someone is flirting with me. I mean, it took me a long time to believe that Willow could actually feel the way she did. Just like that day in the park, when she told me those guys were looking at me. I didn't believe her. She said I wouldn't believe what they saw in me. And I'll say now what I said then, they saw her in me. No one ever noticed me until she did. And no one will ever make me feel the way she does still to this day.
I'm sure Faith's flirting was harmless. I mean, she was just coming back from patrol, and I've heard stories about post-slayage Faith. I'd just never witnessed it. Another reason could be the fact that I've been listening to her, getting her to open up. I think maybe she's always just expressed herself through sexual encounters or innuendos. She feels thankful and close to me, and she doesn't know any other way to express it. Which would make perfect sense for her to make the comments she made tonight.
I don't know why I'm over thinking this so much. I'm sure it was harmless. And I did nothing wrong. I can't lie and say it wasn't flattering, for a beautiful, sexy girl like Faith to flirt with someone like me. I'm only human. But, my heart and soul belong to Willow. I would never do ANYTHING to hurt her. My love for and devotion to her is neverending.
//End Firewall//
I woke up and wasn't able to get back to sleep, so I went to the kitchen to fix myself some Chamomile tea. That always seems to help me fall asleep.
Faith came in from patrolling while I was there.
Faith: *walks into the warehouse, heading to the kitchen for a snack after patrol. She straps her knife back to her boot, wincing as she gets back up*
Tara: *sits at the table in the kitchen, drinking some tea and flipping through a magazine*
Faith: *grabs the rest of her sandwich from the other day and sits at the table, trying not to disturb Tara*
Tara: *looks up, seeing Faith sit down* Hey there. *small grin*
Faith: *smiles back, finishing a mouthful of sandwich* Shouldn't you be cuddlin' Red?
Tara: *grins, closing her magazine* I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I didn't wanna disturb her, so I came down here. *motions towards cup* I thought some tea might help with the sleep issue.
Faith: *nods* Beats the hell outta sleepin' pills... So, why the lack of sleep? Bad dreams?
Tara: *shakes her head* No, not really. Sometimes I have issues with sleeping. *shrugs* I always have. So I usually get some tea, either sit in here and drink it or sit outside in the garden and look at the stars. *takes a sip of her tea*
Faith: They look pretty wicked tonight. The stars, I mean. *takes another bite of her sandwich* Vamps are out like crazy too.
Tara: I take it that means you're just coming back from patrol? *looks at her closer, noticing she's slightly roughed up* A-are you hurt Faith? You look a little beat up.
Faith: *shrugs, wincing a little* I didn't have my gameface on. I needed to rough somethin' up.
Tara: *looks concerned* D-do you need anything? I think there's a first aid kit in here. *gets up, starts looking through the drawers*
Faith: Tara... Calm down. I'm just bruised and shit, I'm sure. *she lied through her teeth, glad Tara couldn't see the tear in the back of her jacket*
Tara: I know I saw one in here. *continues looking* And I think it might be worse than just bruising Faith. That tear in your jacket being the indicator. *turns and looks at her briefly before continuing her search*
Faith: *blinks* How'd you know about that? *shifts uncomfortably*
Tara: See I knew there was one here. *holding up the first aid kit* I read your mind Faith, I could hear your thoughts. *laughs* How do you think I knew? I looked up when you went to the refrigerator, you had your back to me and I saw it. *brings the first aid kit back over to the table* Now, let's see the damage.
Faith: *sighs, carefully stripping off her jacket and shirt* Well, I can't see it. But the fucker ruined a damn nice jacket. *grumbles*
Tara *looks at her back, seeing the deep cut* W-well, I'm no doctor, but it doesn't look like it needs stitches. Let's get it cleaned and bandaged up and I'm sure it will be okay. *smiles softly, opening the first aid kit, taking out some gauze, ointment and tape*
Faith: *smiles softly* Thanks, Tar. It ain't like me, but I got a lot on my mind, y'know?
Tara: *nods, smiling softly* I know you do. *kneels down, opening an alcohol pad* This m-might burn a little. *starts wiping the wound softly with the pad* But I need to clean the blood off.
Faith: *bits her lip, but doesn't say anything* Did you get a chance to talk to Will about the car? *manages, shivering from the cool air the alcohol left on her back*
Tara: *lays the used alcohol pad on the table, opens the ointment, squirts some on her finger and rubs it gently over the cut* I did. She said she had no problems with you driving the car.
Faith: *grins to herself* Sweet. *raises her eyebrow* Anyone ever tell you you have gentle hands?
Tara: I j-just don't want to hurt you *removes the gauze from its packaging and places it over the wound, pressing it down gently* See, you didn't have to steal the car after all. I told you she wouldn't mind. *tapes the gauze in place and stands back up* And I think you're all done. *grins*
Faith: *rolls her back out slightly* Yeah well, stealin's more fun. *turns around to grin at Tara* I gotta keep my bad streak somewhere.
Tara: *shakes her head, laughing* Some things never change. *gathers up the used packages and crosses the kitchen to throw them away*
Faith: *finishes her sandwich* Can't be completely different. Still a wicked flirt, and a hint of a criminal.
Tara: No one's asking you to be different Faith.*smiles, replacing the first aid kit back into the drawer* Just be yourself. *sits back down at the table*
Faith: Hey, myself got me in a lotta trouble, Tara. *shakes her head*
Tara: No, that was you trying to be the image you wanted to project. *taking a sip of her tea* It was you trying not to be yourself.
Faith: Guess you could call that extreme, huh? Which in a way, is me. Never do anythin' vanilla. *grins*
Tara: *grins back* I wouldn't call it extreme, no. I would just call it being afraid to face yourself, afraid to feel, maybe. But not extreme.
Faith: *takes a deep breath* Think about it, Blondie. I held Red at knifepoint, and killed two people. Tried to kill B, and Angel for that matter. I was a fuckin' saint. *suddenly wishes she had a beer in her hand, that would make this easier*
Tara: That's not who you are now though. No matter how hard you try to regain...*pauses, trying to think of how to phrase what she wants to say* that, um, old glory, so to speak, you can't. You've changed. And no matter how hard you fight it, it's the truth, plain and simple.
Tara: You seem to feel you have this reputation to uphold. What you don't realize is that people will accept you and love you for who you are.
Faith: I hate it when you make sense. *smiles playfully* I should find me a girl like you. Or guy, or five...
Tara: I'm just trying to show you that you don't have to be afraid of who you are. You don't have to be the "bad slayer" around me. Or around anyone here for that matter. You are a good person Faith, if we didn't see that, do you think you'd be here? Do you honestly think that people around here would trust you? *raises her eyebrow, looking at her seriously* Do you think Giles would have given you as much responsibility and authority if he didn't believe in you?
Faith: *visibly lets this set in, then shakes her head* No.
Tara: *smiles softly, trying to meet her eyes* We all believe in you. Now you have to believe in yourself. No one expects you to be perfect Faith. If you fall, you have friends here who will pick you back up. Friends who will stand by you and support you completely.
Faith: Hey, baby, I already fell. This is the brushin' off my knees part.
Tara: I get that. But the important part is, you don't have to go through it alone anymore.
Faith: That, however, is one thing I don't think is gonna change for awhile. I may be helpin' but I work better on my own.
Tara: *nods* And that's you. There's nothing wrong with that. Just don't close yourself off. *smiles* There's no rush Faith, you can't change overnight. It sometimes takes a lot of small steps to get to your destination.
Faith: *smirks* You should write a book... But I appreciate what you're sayin'
Tara: I don't know about a book. *slight grin* I just try to be honest and tell you how I see things. I think you're making great effort and progress. Never let anyone begrudge you that.
Faith: *grins* You got it, Tar. *bites her lip, angry that she could satisfy the hungries, but not the hornies* I... think I'm gonna head to bed. But, thanks for everything.
Tara: *nods, smiling* Anytime Faith. You know that. And yeah, I should probably think about going to bed myself.
Faith: *stands up, throwing the baggie away and moving a little closer to Tara* Do I... hug you or... How the fuck does that go? *shifts her eyes, trying to mask her uncomfortable feeling with desire*
Tara: *stands up, smiling slightly at the ackwardness Faith's displaying* You don't have to do anything you aren't comfortable with Faith. Like I said, just be yourself. If you want to hug me, then hug me. If not, I don't expect you to. It's not a requirement, more of a personal choice perse. *grins*
Faith: Heh. I've always been fuck 'em to say thanks. But again, not wantin' to feel Red's wrath. *grins, clapping a hand on Tara's shoulder* Thanks for bein here... *pauses* For bein' my friend.
Tara: *blushes slightly at her comment* You're welcome Faith. *moves her hand up to cover the one on her shoulder, squeezing lightly* As I've said before, I'm always here. *smiles softly, looking her in the eyes*
Faith: *looks back into her eyes* Yeah, Red's got a keeper. *grins, fighting the urge to just kiss Tara*
Tara: *blushes, grinning back* S-So, um, share the elevator up to the 8th floor? Since we're both going that way and all.
Faith: *nods slowly* Sure... If you trust bein' alone with a horny Slayer.
Tara: *blushes profusely, eyes grow wide* O-oh, um, w-well.....*nervously pushing her hair behind her ear, struggling to think of something to say*
Faith: *grins* I thought so... I'll take the stairs.
Tara: *shakes her head* N-n-no, y-you don't have t-to. Um....*looks around, still blushing* h-how bout you go ahead and t-take the elevator, a-and...*take a breath* I'll, uh, g-get the n-next one. *tries to force a smile*
Faith: The shy thing? It's wicked cute. *picks up her jacket and shirt off the table and turns, heading towards the door to the stairs*
Tara: *trying to regain her composure, she heads towards the elevator*
Oh Goddess, that really caught me off guard. I know Faith's always flirty with everyone, but that type of attention always makes me so nervous. I never understand why someone is flirting with me. I mean, it took me a long time to believe that Willow could actually feel the way she did. Just like that day in the park, when she told me those guys were looking at me. I didn't believe her. She said I wouldn't believe what they saw in me. And I'll say now what I said then, they saw her in me. No one ever noticed me until she did. And no one will ever make me feel the way she does still to this day.
I'm sure Faith's flirting was harmless. I mean, she was just coming back from patrol, and I've heard stories about post-slayage Faith. I'd just never witnessed it. Another reason could be the fact that I've been listening to her, getting her to open up. I think maybe she's always just expressed herself through sexual encounters or innuendos. She feels thankful and close to me, and she doesn't know any other way to express it. Which would make perfect sense for her to make the comments she made tonight.
I don't know why I'm over thinking this so much. I'm sure it was harmless. And I did nothing wrong. I can't lie and say it wasn't flattering, for a beautiful, sexy girl like Faith to flirt with someone like me. I'm only human. But, my heart and soul belong to Willow. I would never do ANYTHING to hurt her. My love for and devotion to her is neverending.
//End Firewall//