Tara is having a day from hell. Well, maybe not hell - she's had too many conversations with Anya and Fred to really think that very many hell dimensions are even all that bad compared to their own. But the imagery feels right and so she goes with it, hoping for a long hot bath when she gets home and no chores.
Of course she first has to pick up Dawnie from softball practice and Sunnydale decides that it is a perfect day for a weird storm and there's no way to prevent her books from getting wet when Allison and Dawn pile into the backseat, grins bright and wide on their faces and mud covering them from head to toe.
They get Papa Murphy's on the way home because there's no way in hell she's cooking tonight.
The power is out when they get home and she has a minor heart attack that she forgot to pay the bill and then Dawn and Allison tease her because the whole neighborhood is dark and they eat all the food they can scrape together from the fridge.
She tries to smile at their giggles and antics but can't because she's so hellishly grouchy. As soon as she can, she disappears upstairs to the room she keeps wanting to say is ours, but will always just feel like Buffy's, a dripping candle in one hand.
Buffy is lying on the bed in the fetal position, holding Mr. Gordo to her chest and staring blankly out the window.
"Oh my god," Tara leans against the door and sighs. "Please tell me it's not that time of the month, because I've had a day from hell and I don't us both to be bitchy, Dawn will try to move in with Spike again."
Buffy rolls over to face Tara and smiles wanly, "That's not it, sorry for not being downstairs."
Tara turns to the calendar on the wall, hoping for a biological explanation for her current mood (since her day from hell was actually probably a pretty good day all things considered, she had just been in a mood and wasn't yet willing to admit it). She scanned the page on the wall, a kitten chewing on a ball of yarn looking down at her from above the grid of dates, and tried to remember what day it was. Was it Thursday? Wednesday?
"What's the date, anyway?" and then there it was, staring up at her in Buffy's scrawl:
Mom's Birthday ♥
Tara turned, set the candle down on the desk, and then crawled into bed, taking Buffy's hands in hers, "Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. I didn't ..." Buffy sighed, closing her eyes. Several tears broke free with the gesture and rolled down her pale face. "It's okay."
"It's not," Tara leaned her forehead against Buffy's and shifted her body closer to hers.
They lay there for a minute, soft sounds of Dawn and Allison laughing drifting up from downstairs, the rain outside, the sounds of each other breathing gently in rhythm.
After a while, the lights flickered back on, followed by a loud whoop from downstairs.
"I'm so glad she's happy," Buffy said, her eyes still closed.
Tara kissed her softly on the mouth, it was a little salty from Buffy's tears and the taste made Tara's heart break slightly.
"Me too."
"I'm happy, too," Buffy said defensively, backing away a bit.
Tara's eyes widened.
"I mean - I'm sad right now, but generally very happy!"
Tara chuckled and kissed her again, smiling against Buffy's soft lips. "It's okay to be sad today."
Buffy sighed and relaxed, "Okay good. Because I am."
Tara is having a day from hell. Well, maybe not hell - she's had too many conversations with Anya and Fred to really think that very many hell dimensions are even all that bad compared to their own. But the imagery feels right and so she goes with it, hoping for a long hot bath when she gets home and no chores.
Of course she first has to pick up Dawnie from softball practice and Sunnydale decides that it is a perfect day for a weird storm and there's no way to prevent her books from getting wet when Allison and Dawn pile into the backseat, grins bright and wide on their faces and mud covering them from head to toe.
They get Papa Murphy's on the way home because there's no way in hell she's cooking tonight.
The power is out when they get home and she has a minor heart attack that she forgot to pay the bill and then Dawn and Allison tease her because the whole neighborhood is dark and they eat all the food they can scrape together from the fridge.
She tries to smile at their giggles and antics but can't because she's so hellishly grouchy. As soon as she can, she disappears upstairs to the room she keeps wanting to say is ours, but will always just feel like Buffy's, a dripping candle in one hand.
Buffy is lying on the bed in the fetal position, holding Mr. Gordo to her chest and staring blankly out the window.
"Oh my god," Tara leans against the door and sighs. "Please tell me it's not that time of the month, because I've had a day from hell and I don't us both to be bitchy, Dawn will try to move in with Spike again."
Buffy rolls over to face Tara and smiles wanly, "That's not it, sorry for not being downstairs."
Tara turns to the calendar on the wall, hoping for a biological explanation for her current mood (since her day from hell was actually probably a pretty good day all things considered, she had just been in a mood and wasn't yet willing to admit it). She scanned the page on the wall, a kitten chewing on a ball of yarn looking down at her from above the grid of dates, and tried to remember what day it was. Was it Thursday? Wednesday?
"What's the date, anyway?" and then there it was, staring up at her in Buffy's scrawl:
Mom's Birthday ♥
Tara turned, set the candle down on the desk, and then crawled into bed, taking Buffy's hands in hers, "Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. I didn't ..." Buffy sighed, closing her eyes. Several tears broke free with the gesture and rolled down her pale face. "It's okay."
"It's not," Tara leaned her forehead against Buffy's and shifted her body closer to hers.
They lay there for a minute, soft sounds of Dawn and Allison laughing drifting up from downstairs, the rain outside, the sounds of each other breathing gently in rhythm.
After a while, the lights flickered back on, followed by a loud whoop from downstairs.
"I'm so glad she's happy," Buffy said, her eyes still closed.
Tara kissed her softly on the mouth, it was a little salty from Buffy's tears and the taste made Tara's heart break slightly.
"Me too."
"I'm happy, too," Buffy said defensively, backing away a bit.
Tara's eyes widened.
"I mean - I'm sad right now, but generally very happy!"
Tara chuckled and kissed her again, smiling against Buffy's soft lips. "It's okay to be sad today."
Buffy sighed and relaxed, "Okay good. Because I am."
Reply
Leave a comment