~HLM~
Buffy quietly climbed the stairs,
stopping at the opened door to Tara’s room. Seeing the Wiccan stretched
out sideways across her bed with a book in hand, Buffy leaned against the doorframe.
Tara tilted her head back to
look up at the Slayer, frowning at the dirt covered woman. “Are you okay?” She set the open book down on her chest as she scooted around at a bit of an angle
to get a better look at the Slayer, her eyes searching for obvious injury.
Buffy watched Tara’s
eyes for a moment before looking down at herself, grimacing at the condition she was in.
“Yeah, nothing a shower and washing machine won’t fix.” She
pushed off the doorframe, frowning when she saw blood on her sleeve and a small, neat slice in the material. “And maybe a band aid or two.”
Tara set her book aside on
the bed as she swung herself around, feet hitting the floor.
Buffy held up a hand to stop
the woman. “Minor damage.”
She now remembered the knife cutting her as she fought with a demon, pissing her off right before she took his head
off with her own sword and a few choice words.
Tara stopped her self from
going to the Slayer, settling on the edge of the bed as she nodded. “Let
me know if it requires more than a band aid.” She’d gotten into the
habit of leaving her bedroom door open until the Slayer got home from patrol. Buffy
had told her she didn’t have to stay up waiting for her to get home every night.
Truth be told, she didn’t, but there were nights when she was still awake when Buffy did come in. She was a light enough sleeper, that she usually heard the Slayer coming up the stairs and cracked an eye
open. Buffy poking her head in the room to tell her she was okay before closing the door, Tara being placated with the answer
and quickly drifting back to sleep.
Buffy nodded. “I will.” She started to turn, turning back. “You’re up late?”
Tara glanced at the clock and
back to Buffy. “I didn’t realize it was so late.” She shrugged as she blindly reached for her book.
“Good book?” Buffy’s brow rose as she watched Tara pick up the book, placing it on her lap
as a mischievous smile crept onto her face.
“Yes.” Tara winked at her. “I was just getting to the good
part.”
Buffy chuckled softly as a
blush flushed the Wiccan’s cheeks. “Since when did you read about
the manly parts doing the horizontal bop?” She grinned as the flush darkened.
Tara brought the book to her
chest as she crossed her arms around it, one finger keeping her place. “I
never said it had manly parts in it.” Tara wiggled her brows and watched
Buffy’s eyes open wide in surprise, laughing softly as she fell back on the bed and opened the book again. She ignored the Slayer as she waved her out of the room. “Go
take your shower, Sweetie.” She smiled and bit her lip as she got a grunt
in answer, laughing softly as Buffy turned and walked away, the bathroom door closing behind her.
~HLM~
Buffy stepped into the bathroom
and closed the door, still somewhat surprised by the Wiccan’s answer. Then
again she really couldn’t picture the woman reading a bodice ripper with Fabio on the cover, chuckling softly she undressed
after turning the shower on. “I think she’d cringe more than anything,
if she read those.”
Tossing her blouse in the sink
to soak, she groaned as she looked down at her arm knowing it would require a few stitches.
“Had to be on the right arm, didn’t it?” She poked at
the wound before getting out the first aid kit and cleaning the wound. She’d
rather have Tara do it than try putting the stitches in with her left hand, though she hated asking the woman. She remembered the last time Tara had caught her trying to awkwardly stitch her right shoulder, the woman
batting her hand away and giving her a disapproving look before taking up the needle herself.
Buffy hadn’t missed the color draining from the woman’s face, or the tremble in her hands as she put her
back together.
Sighing she stepped into the
shower as she let her mind wander to what it was that Tara was reading, wondering how they’d handle a lesbian sex scene
in it. Tilting her head she tried to remember the last time she’d read a sex scene of any type. Shaking her head when the
answer didn’t come to her, she started washing up thinking that throbbing
and thrusting, and pounding and pulsing, was about the only things she did recall
from the books she’d read before becoming the Slayer. Frowning as she thought
about not having really had an opportunity to read for pleasure after she’d come to Sunnydale, not that she’d
cracked the books for school or research, either.
~HLM~
Tara glanced up from her book
when she saw movement in the doorway, the Slayer standing there hesitantly looking at her.
Seeing the gauze bandage, tape, and suture kit in Buffy’s hands Tara set her book aside once again, patting the
bed as she sat up. “Come here, Sweetie.”
Buffy hesitated another moment
before taking her place beside the Wiccan on the edge of the bed. “I hate
to ask, but thank you.” She dropped her head as she set the items in her
hands on the bed.
“I’ll always help
if I can, Buffy.” Tara used a finger to lift the Slayer’s chin. “Thank you.”
Buffy’s brows furrowed
as she tried to figure out why Tara was thanking her.
Smiling at the confusion on
the Slayer’s face, Tara tapped the tip of Buffy’s nose. “You
don’t always have to do it on your own, Tough Stuff.”
Buffy nodded, the corner of
her lips curling up at the name Tara called her when she was being stubborn. “Point
taken.”
“Good!” Tara winked at her before she pushed up off the bed. “You
forgot the scissors. Don’t run off before I get back, or I’ll come
hunt you down, Slayer.” She tried giving her a serious glare over her shoulder
to let her know she meant business.
Buffy laughed softly at the
tough look from Tara, but the amusement in the blue eyes couldn’t pull the look off.
“Yes, Ma’am.” She made a show of crossing her heart.
Tara laughed softly as she
left the room to wash her hands and get the scissors.
As soon as Tara was gone, Buffy
scooted onto the bed and lay down with Tara’s book opened in front of her. Skimming
the page quickly, she used the gauze pad package as a bookmark then began flipping back pages until she found what she was
looking for.
Tara stopped as she stepped
back into the room, blushing when Buffy grinned up at her and wiggled her brows.
“Don’t mind me.” Buffy winked at her as she tossed her right arm out on the bed and pulled up the sleeve
on her robe, her eyes dropping back to the book.
Tara whimpered softly at the
thought of Buffy embarrassing her with her own choice of reading materials. When
all she heard was a soft laugh from the Slayer as she waved her injured arm Tara moved to the bed, Buffy’s eyes never
leaving the book. Tara picked up Buffy’s arm after placing the scissors
on the bed, unwrapping the towel that covered the wound and laying it on her lap atop the towel before examining the wound.
Buffy’s brows rose as
she read the love scene between two women, soft grunts and groans occasionally escaping her.
Tara blushed at the sounds
coming from the Slayer, tying off a stitch she glanced over at Buffy’s face. Smiling
and biting her lip as the Slayer’s eyes raced back and forth across the page, brows furrowing only to rise again in
surprise as another grunt left her. Chuckling softly Tara went back to putting
the neat little sutures in the Slayer’s arm.
“Shh!” Buffy sent a quick glare Tara’s way before her eyes quickly found their place back on the page.
Tara grinned at being shushed
by the Slayer. Taking the opportunity of Buffy being engrossed to glance at the
book to see which part she was reading. She silently whimpered as she felt the
blush heating her face, the Slayer finding one of the love scenes to read.
“Wow!” Buffy stared at the page after finishing the love scene. “Does
it really… I mean, is it always…” She shook her head as she
looked up at Tara with a look of surprised wonder clearly showing on her features.
Tara chuckled softly, shrugging
as she tied off the last stitch. She knew her face was red but there was nothing
she could do to stop the blush as she glanced at Buffy. “It can be.”
“Huh.” Buffy grunted before closing the book to look at the cover seeing the author’s name, Radclyffe, and
the title, Safe Harbor. “You know, they should highlight certain parts
of this and make it required reading for men.”
Tara chuckled softly as she
reached to rip the top off the gauze package, using the piece in place of the package itself as the bookmark. “Damn, so much for toaster sales.”
“Huh?” Buffy opened the book back to Tara’s page, securing the small bookmark better, before looking up
at Tara with questioning eyes.
Tara just smiled at her, chuckling
when Buffy rolled her eyes as the little light bulb clicked on in her head, turning she taped the bandage over the wound.
“Better yet, make it
required reading for women, then toaster sales would skyrocket.” Buffy
grinned as Tara’s head snapped up, surprised blue eyes looking back at her making her laugh.
Tara smiled and shook her head
as she rolled her own eyes before she made sure the bandage was secure, knowing the Slayer was only teasing her. “You’re all done, Sweetie.” She patted the
Slayer’s arm before gathering the trash.
“Thanks.” Buffy shifted around to sit up as she picked up the other items. “Now I know what kept you up until three in the morning.”
She grinned and laughed as Tara blushed and hurried off the bed to toss the trash away.
Though still blushing, Tara
smiled as the Slayer headed for the door. It was nice to hear the woman laughing
and joking on occasion nowadays, even if it was at her expense.
“Thank you, Tara. Goodnight, and don’t stay up too late.”
Buffy grinned at the Wiccan as she grabbed the doorknob, ready to shut the door.
“You’re welcome,
Tough Stuff.” Tara winked at her.
“’Night, Sweetie.” She waited until Buffy started closing
the door. “Oh, and Buffy?”
Buffy stopped and looked over
her shoulder to the grinning Wiccan.
“I won’t be staying
up too late if you take my book.” Tara grinned as she held out her hand
and wiggled her fingers for the book Buffy tried sneaking out of her room with.
“Damn!” Buffy pouted before laughing softly as she turned to hand Tara back her book. “Can I read it when you’re done?” She looked
hopefully at her.
Tara laughed and nodded when
Buffy wouldn’t release the book until she’d answered her. “Should
I highlight and mark the pages for you?”
Buffy smiled and let the book
go as she shook her head. “No, I’ll see if I can’t actually
read the whole thing, not just the good parts.”
“They’re all good
parts, Sweetie.” Tara brought the book to her chest with one hand as she
pointed towards a couple stacks of books on a wooden chest. “There are
others, if you’d like to read them.”
“Really?” Buffy looked from Tara to where she was pointing before looking back to Tara, a slight
blush creeping up her cheeks.
Tara gave her a soft smile
as she nodded.
“Thanks, any suggestions?” Buffy asked as she stepped over to the books, looking at the titles and noticing that
a majority of them were by the same author and most from the same publishing company, Bold Strokes Books.
“They’re all good. Though some are series, those are in the pile on the right. You might want to choose something from the other pile to see if you like them before reading the series
ones.” Tara smiled at the grunt she got in response as she settled back
on her bed, the Slayer reading the back covers on a few before choosing one.
Buffy held up the book to show
Tara which one she’d chosen as she headed towards the door again, she could feel the heat in her cheeks as Tara smiled
at her with twinkling eyes. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,
Sweetie. Oh, and Buffy… no drooling or other sticky bodily fluids on the
pages, please.” Tara burst out in laughter at the look of shock on Buffy’s
face.
“TARA!” Buffy’s face turned dark red as she glared at the Wiccan. “I
can’t believe you said that!” Buffy mumbled as she hurriedly left
the room, closing the door on the laughter behind her. “Damn, Wiccan!” Buffy grumbled before smiling as she looked down at the book in her hand as she headed
towards her room, stopping to put the scissors and tape back, and the first aid kit away as she went.
Tara continued to laugh as
she adjusted her pillows against the headboard and got comfortable before opening her book to finish reading. “Just wait until I give you the pop quiz when you finish reading it, Tough Stuff.” Tara snorted softly, a grin still on her face as she found her place and began reading.
~HLM~
