Tara looked into the mirror with a frown, reaching up to run a hand through her brown hair. "Wish I looked better," she sighed, adjusting the clothes she had picked out. Going with an older look she had chosen a simple dress and top, both in a mildly folksy pattern. It had been, frankly, a long time since Tara had considered going on a date, and most of those had been when she was trying to follow her parent's wishes and date guys. Her experience dating girls was pretty much limited to her short time in college, right before the Master's rise to power. She had discovered the gay society and wiccan clubs, and in the process came to learn more about herself. "I'm going to be late," Tara frowned as she headed to the apartment door, grabbing her coat and pulling it on as she went out the door. The streets of Sunnydale were quiet as Tara strode towards the Bronze, glad that she had chosen to live so close to her work. She was in so much of a hurry that she wasn't paying quite as much attention as she might have, and so was taken by surprise. The vampire lunged from the shadows, eyes blazing as it knocked her down and went for her throat. Tara managed to hold it off, struggling, but she knew it was going to get her. It's breath washed across her face as the fangs drew closer, mouth stretched wide... when it suddenly stiffened. A sharp end of wood stuck from it's chest then it simply turned to dust, revealing a woman standing confidently in the moonlight. Faith offered her hand, "Are you all right?" "Nothing hurt but my pride," Tara sighed, taking her hand so that Faith could firmly pull her back to her feet. Faith stood there dressed in black, a leather jacket, pants and a pale colored T-shirt. Only a touch of make-up marked her face, highlighting those eyes and full, red lips. Lips that were quirked in a gentle smile as she asked, "What?" "You look good," she answered her softly, Tara returning that smile with one of her own. "So do you," Faith answered softly. She kept that hand in her own as she said with a little smile, "So, what do you want to do tonight?" They walked together towards the Bronze, a gentle breeze stirring their hair. The fall weather was surprisingly comfortable, a gentle warmth carried in the air. "To be honest I hadn't really thought that far ahead," she admitted. "I have some suggestions," Faith smiled wickedly, "but most of them are immoral." "Faith!" Tara scolded, but she was still smiling. Faith shrugged with a smile, "Hey, at least I'm honest." "True," Tara smiled. The Bronze was busy, of course, like most weekday nights, but the lines swiftly gave way as the two women went inside. "So who's watching the place for you tonight?" Faith asked curiously. "I was a bit surprised who volunteered," Tara nodded towards the bar. "Damn," Faith's eyes went wide in surprise. Jenny Calendar smoothly drew some beer, her short brown hair framing her face. The bold scar at her neck went oddly well with the goth looking clothes she had chosen. Beside her dressed in much more casual clothes than was his normal style was Rupert Giles, slinging drinks almost as well as his female companion. Tara shrugged with a little smile, "Jenny said she wanted to, then Giles surprised me by agreeing to help out." "I didn't know the G-man had it in him," Faith said with a laugh. "Welcome," Giles looked up with a smile as he saw them. He smiled as he quietly confessed, "You know, I haven't had this much fun since I was involved in the London club scene." "Everything is going fine," Jenny swiftly anticipated her student's question, "now go find yourselves a seat, I'll send Buffy over with something for you." "Buffy?" Tara blinked. "Well, I couldn't leave her unsupervised," Giles shrugged, "and she, Willow and Dawn were all quite eager to help out." "Though I think that Dawn just wanted to try and sneak in some underaged drinking," Jenny confided to them impishly. "No way," Giles said firmly. Jenny chuckled as she turned to handle a customer, "We'll see." Faith had to laugh softly. "We'll catch up with you latter," she waved to them as she and Tara headed for a corner table. "What a night," Tara murmured with a smile. Faith casually pulled out a chair for Tara then sat down in her own, studying the other woman thoughtfully. "Did I really surprise you," she asked, "when I asked you out a few nights ago?" "Yes," Tara quietly admitted, "I haven't been asked out very often. I've only really had one girlfriend, before now." "I find that pretty hard to believe," Faith met her eyes as she confessed, "I wanted to ask you out the day I met you." "What, when we were all fighting?" Tara blinked. "You're beautiful when you're angry," Faith shrugged. "Here's your beers," Buffy set the two bottles down with a soft clink, offering them both cheery smiles. She looked good in the sleek dress she was wearing, dirty blonde hair styled to highlight her expressive eyes. "Thank you," a faintly blushing Tara said. "Good timing, B," Faith sighed. With a smile that all but said she knew exactly what she had interrupted Buffy added, "If you need anything else, just ask." "If I asked for what I wanted," Faith tossed an impish look over at Tara as she growled out, "Willow would probably have a fit." Buffy actually blushed, "You are a bad girl, Faith." With that she was off, heading back towards the bar where Dawn was talking to some of the other patrons. Tara chuckled softly, looking over at Faith with pure amusement. "You really like disconcerting her," she said thoughtfully, taking a drink of her own beer. Faith nodded as she picked up her beer, taking a long pull before putting it down with a happy sigh, "Oh yeah." She looked over at Tara, "Of course, what I'd like to be doing with you would get us thrown out of here." "I'm no model," Tara blushed faintly, "why are you so interested?" "Models are overrated," Faith smiled at her as she teasingly drawled, "no endurance at all." More seriously she added, "And you are lovely." Tara met her eyes, knowing that the young woman meant every word. "And you're beautiful," she murmured softly. Standing up by the bar Willow looked over at the faintly blushing Buffy and asked her lover, "What happened?" Buffy chuckled, "Faith decided to get me out of there by teasing me." Willow pushed her red tinted brown hair back, "Somehow, that doesn't really surprise me." She studied the two women who were sitting so closely together and smiled, "At least things look like they're going well." They heard a laugh and watched as Dawn ran by, carrying a load of empties to the bar. "Someone actually goosed me," she reported happily. "What are you so happy about?" Buffy frowned. "It's the first time someone noticed me enough to do that," Dawn grinned.
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