"Hi."
"H-hi."
There was a long uncomfortable silence.
"Can I . . .?"
"Oh, yeah, sure."
Tara stepped back from the door and allowed Buffy inside.
"Nice room," Buffy complimented nervously.
"Uh, thanks."
The two girls stood awkwardly in the centre of the room for a moment before Tara gestured to a chair and sat down on the bed with her legs crossed under her. Again there was a long, awkward silence as Buffy looked around, avoiding Tara's eyes, and Tara alternated between looking at Buffy nervously and picking at her shirtsleeve.
"So," Buffy began after a while, and indicated the open suitcase on the floor, "are you going away for the summer?"
"J-just to see my folks. I'll be back before college starts."
"That'll be nice," Buffy commented and began to nervously twist the handle of her bag around her fingers.
"Uh, Buffy, not to be rude or anything . . . but . . . what did you want? I-I assume you're here for a reason," Tara asked.
"I'm not really sure," the Slayer replied, trying to put her nebulous thoughts into words. "I guess I'm here because of Willow. Things have been pretty crazy for the past few months so I haven't had a chance to really talk to you. I just wanted to . . ."
"Find out if I'm good enough for her?" Tara offered with a self-deprecating smile.
"That's not the way I've have put it," Buffy said with an answering smile, "but . . . yeah. I didn't know you two were that close and then, well, Willow surprised me with the whole 'you and her' thing so I want to find out about you."
Tara looked closely at Buffy, the look much more intent than her usual shy glances, and replied, "There's not really that much to tell. I'm just . . . me."
"I suppose what I'm actually asking is, do you really love her?"
"I don't think anyone who meets Willow could avoid falling a little in love with her."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, she's Willow . . . a-and she's . . . Willow," Tara tried to explain. "It would be hard not to fall in love with her."
An image of her redheaded friend's gently smiling face flashed through Buffy's mind and she was unaware that she smiled softly and murmured, "Yeah."
Tara's eyes showed a brief spark of pain but that was quickly masked. "How long have you been in love with her?" she asked quietly.
There was a moment of shocked silence before Buffy replied, "I'm not in love with her! What would make you think I feel that way? I am completely not in love with her. She's my best friend and I'd never break that trust. We're totally platonic. There's nothing going on. She's . . . she's like a sister to me. Why would you think I'm in love with her? Not that I am. Of course."
There was another silence as Buffy ran out of steam and tried to get her confused thoughts to stop whirling around her head. After a moment she calmly stated, "I am not in love with Willow."
Sensing how upset Buffy was Tara changed tactics. "Willow's always talking about you, y'know. 'Buffy this', 'Buffy said that' - she really cares for you. If I were that type, I'd feel jealous."
"Oh." Buffy could not think of anything to say to that.
"But Willow would never do anything to hurt you or make you uncomfortable," the blonde witch continued. "And she loves me, although I know which of us she'd chose if she ever had to."
"Oh." Still nothing intelligent came to Buffy's mind.
"I love her and I want her to be happy no matter who it's with. Obviously I'd prefer it to be me, but I can't make her decisions for her."
"I can see that," Buffy said quietly.
"I'd better finish packing," Tara announced, standing.
Buffy stood as well. "I'd better go. You have packing . . . and so do I and . . . stuff."
Tara walked to the door but did not open it, instead turning to face the blonde Slayer. "You will look after Willow while I'm gone, won't you? Make sure she doesn't get l-lonely. Maybe . . . talk to her? She missed you this year."
"I will," Buffy promised, not entirely certain what she had just promised to do.
"G-good," Tara said with a shy smile, although there was pain in her eyes that Buffy shied away from. "Maybe I'll see you next year."
As the door closed behind her Buffy reflected that while their conversation had not gone the way she had planned, she felt somehow . . . lighter now.
*finis*