Friends With Benefits
by Electra
Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.
Spoilers: None; Post-Chosen.
Author's Notes: I started this fic over a year ago, but only just got the second chapter written. Here's chapter one; chapter two will be on its way soon. If you have some time, I'd love to hear what you think. :)
Dedication: To Dylan, for letting me see another side.

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CHAPTER ONE

The moon shone dimly in the hazy L.A. sky as a bus full of old and new friends alike pulled up to the Holiday Inn Hotel Deluxe.

"Angel said this is the place." Willow said quietly to Giles as she closed her flip-top cellphone, careful not to disturb the slumbering group before her. "He's got about a dozen rooms set aside for us, all we have to do is check in."

Giles pulled the bus to a slow stop on the street in front of the hotel. He stood and faced the people behind him, clearing his throat a few times as to gently wake them from their states of slumber, shock, or awe over the days' events.

After a few moments of stretching and aiding those who weren't able to move well on their own, the large group began to slowly file off of the bus.

Sheer exhaustion kept them from celebrating their earlier victory in Sunnydale. There were far fewer of them than there had been earlier that day; earlier that summer. 'There are always casualties in war' Buffy had said, and the statement rang true into the still of the post-battle night.

Several had perished during the battle. Anya. Spike. Numerous of the inexperienced potentials. No, not potentials. Slayers. They had been Slayers, at least at the very end.

Another group had been dropped off at a L.A hospital to receive proper treatment.

One of the more emotional moments had been when the body of Robin Wood was carried away from the bus on a hospital stretcher as the rest of the group watched on in silence. There was nothing they could do for him on the journey. He lay there, blood seeping from his fresh bandages as he slowly lost his own battle.

Faith had stood emotionless and watched with a fixed gaze as the hospital staff took her one-time lover away. It numbed her even further to know that such a genuinely big fighter on the side of good had been taken. Only when she felt the comforting hand of Willow on her back was she finally able to tear her eyes away with a flinch, crossing her arms over her chest and walking back onto the bus in silence.

The drive to the hotel had been completely silent, save for the soft conversation that Willow had with Angel on her cellphone.

Most of the newly-risen Slayers stood quietly in the lobby of the hotel, stretching their achy muscles as they waited for their room assignments. Luckily, there were only about 25 people remaining now. For the first in a long time, many would have the luxury of sleeping in their own beds that night . . . a big step up from the hastily laid sleeping bags at the Summers' house.

Willow had decided to stay with Kennedy, and Dawn just about clutched to Xander when she saw him crying at the back of the bus over Anya's death. Truth be told, no one really wanted to be alone that night. As the father-figure, Giles agreed to stay with Andrew, the boy visibly shaken from his own personal survival in the battle that he was willing to sacrifice himself for.

When Giles had announced that Faith would be rooming with Rona, the brunette finally spoke up.

"Nope. I'm with B." She stated firm, yet softly at the same time.

No one questioned how or why . . . Giles simply nodded and made a notation on his note pad.

Faith glanced over to Buffy, checking to see if there was any form of protest being displayed. However, there was just no energy for protest. The blonde still had tear stains on her face, unable to deal with the emotions of the day and the implications of what they had done. She was no longer the 'one girl in all the world': she was one of many.

It was the life she had always wanted.

Though no one could really have told the difference, her tears had mostly from happiness, not sorrow.

She gave Faith a small smile before dropping her vision back down to her battle-stained clothing.

Faith, for her part, was almost excited to share the room with Buffy. Since she had returned to Sunnydale, the only time they had gotten to spend alone was when they had been tracking a Bringer through Sunnydale. The air between them had been somewhat tense, but she felt it all melt away when Buffy had thrown her the Scythe as they fought side-by-side in the Hellmouth.

It was as if in that single gesture, they had wiped clear the tainted slate of their past. Buffy had handed over her power of her own free will . . . and Faith felt forever thankful to the girl for giving that to her.

It pretty much removed her belief that her sister-Slayer would never forgive her, even in death.

Still, she had other reasons for wanting to stay with the blonde. Even though she was uneducated, Faith was far from stupid. She saw how close Buffy had become with Spike over the course of the few weeks that she was there. Saw how much Buffy had relied upon him to get through the battle; through life. Saw how emotionally dependent she was on him those last two nights.

And the real kicker was when she had watched the interaction between the slayer and vampire from the entrance at the Hellmouth. Watched as Buffy had told Spike, finally, that she had loved him . . . and how he had basically thrown in back in her face.

Faith swore that, had he not perished in the collapse, she would've found him and staked his ass for being so ignorant.

Truthfully . . . she couldn't really tell if Buffy had loved the vamp. It was apparent that she had cared. That much was perfectly clear. But, the confession as the walls crumbled around them . . . well, she couldn't tell what to make of it.

Still, if there was one thing that Faith was sure of, it was that Buffy was going to be overwhelmed right now. With the sadness of losing her home. With the losses they had suffered. With the joy of the victory. With the happy prospect of a non-Slayer-y future. With the fact that her love, even if not real, had been thrown back in her face.

She knew that Buffy was going to crumble; let her tremendous strength give for a bit, just a night; that the girl would allow herself to breakdown at the overwhelming emotion of it all. She knew that, even if only for a short time, Buffy was going to be weak.

And something about that got to her.

To watch someone who had always been the very definition of 'strong' become suddenly weak . . . it boggled her mind. She didn't like the thought of it.

So, for this one night, at least this one night, Faith would be her strength. She would stay with her, watch over her, reassure her if she needed it, hold her if she needed it.

Someone needed to be the strong one, the one in control, the one with the weight of the world on her shoulders. And for the first time in her life . . . Faith thought that she could finally be that person.

For this one night, Faith would be everything that the blonde had always been for her.

As the hotel staff began to pass out the room keys, Faith eagerly stepped to the front of the line and browsed through the key cards, quickly snatching the one marked 410. She hesitated only for a second before turning and walking towards Buffy, standing before the blonde for a moment to get her attention.

She held up the card and wiggled it a bit so that Buffy could see it clearly, leaning in just a bit to whisper.

"The last time I was in L.A., I found out that all of the deluxe suites in this place are the '10' rooms . . . 210, 310, 410 . . . looks like we've got ourselves a little bit of fine living to be had, B." She said with a smirk, sliding the key card into her pocket and looping her arm through Buffy's, leading her towards the elevator.

Buffy put on a warm smile as she looked over at Faith, wondering why the girl was being so suddenly friendly towards her. They had never had a spectacular relationship before, but Buffy was open to the possibility of a new friendship with the girl. After all . . . she had more than proved herself over the last few weeks. Perhaps even redeemed herself.

Before she could ask why the sudden case of 'nice', Faith jumped in.

"No questions. It's just cos I wanna be, alright?" The brunette said in an almost embarrassed tone, knowing exactly what the girl was going to ask her. She her eyes glance over to the blonde just once as she tried to focus on the elevator door closing in front of them.

Buffy's smile widened just for a moment before she poked Faith in the side with her elbow, their arms still looped around one another's.

*****

"Niiiiiiiiiice." Faith purred as they walked into the suite, looking around excitedly before kicking off her boots and jumping around on the king-sized bed.

"Oh, gross, Faith. Your feet have been sweating inside those clodhoppers of yours all day long, and now you're jumping on my nice clean bed with them. Eww." Buffy said jokingly.

She crossed her arms over her chest, raising her eyebrows and tried to look menacing but wasn't able to get the little smirk off of her face.

Seeing Faith jumping around and carefree . . . it just made her smile. She couldn't explain it.

The brunette did a couple more overly enthusiastic jumps before plopping down on her butt and laying back, folding her arms behind her head.

"Nuh-uh. This isn't YOUR bed, B. It's OUR bed. As in you and me, fightin' over the blankets and me rubbing my stanky feet all around." Faith said, waggling her eyebrows.

Buffy dropped her arms to her sides, her eyebrows raising even higher.

"You're kidding me, right?" She asked as she started walking throughout the suite, looking for another bed but finding none. "I actually have to share my bed with you?" Her voiced raised an octave or two as the reality set in.

Faith smirked.

"OUR bed, B. If you have a problem with it, I can always have them bring up one of those old, foldable cots for you." Seeing the displeased look on Buffy's face, she continued. "Geez, B, relax. Don't worry, I'm not gonna dry-hump you or nothin. Don't get me wrong; you're wicked cute and everything. But you look like you just got outta some kinda apocalyptic battle."

It was impossible for Buffy to keep up the unhappy face she was wearing when Faith was doing the smirk/raised-eyebrow combo.

"Hey, I look good considering what I've been through today, let alone these past few weeks. And I'm having a hard time believing that there'll be no dry-humping. We're post-slay. I KNOW you're feeling 'it'." Buffy stated, putting emphasis on the word 'it'.

Faith sat up a bit and rested herself on her elbows, one eyebrow raised.

"'It'?" She asked, smirking yet again.

"Yes. 'It'. You know what I'm talking about, Faith." Buffy said, crossing her arms across her chest again.

Faith chuckled.

"You're feeling it too, aren't ya? The hungry and horny. Tell me you're NOT feeling it, B."

Buffy fidgeted in her standing position, trying to come across as indifferent. Knowing that Faith wouldn't let the subject move on until she finally fessed up, she finally relented after years of denial.

"Fine." She sighed. "I feel it. Now, let's move on. Do you wanna go to bed now or stay up for a while?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

Faith laughed and pointed at Buffy, quickly jumping up on her feet on the bed again.

"Oh, I KNEW it!! I'm not a freak, B! You've always felt it too!" She said excitedly. She stopped jumping around for a minute, interesting thoughts obviously crossing her mind. Finally, she spoke again. "Man, can you imagine what all those newbie Slayers are going through right now? They're probably scarfing down hotel food and figuring how to get a bit of alone time, if ya know what I mean. And apparently, you do."

Buffy thought about it for a second, ready to act mildly annoyed at being called out, but instead coming to a realization.

"Yeah, you're probably right." She said, smiling. "Speaking of hotel food . . . I think it's time to make a call to room service. What do you say?"

Faith put on a big smile, hopping down from the bed and wandering over to the desk. She picked up a menu and tossed it over to Buffy, heading off in the other direction. "Order two of everything that isn't seafood." She called out over her shoulder.

Buffy just barely caught the menu as it flew towards her, momentarily caught off guard.

"Hey! Where are you going?" The blonde asked, watching Faith walk into the bathroom and close the door behind her.

"You take care of the hungries, and I'm gonna take care of my hornies about 4 or 5 times in the shower!" She called out, her smirk almost audibly apparent.

Buffy scoffed as she shook her head a bit and opened up the menu, her hand reaching for the tableside telephone.

"Just leave some hot water for me." She mumbled under her breath.

"I heard that!" Faith yelled out from the bathroom.

Buffy just shook her head and smiled, pondering just exactly how she was going to make it through the night with the feisty brunette in bed with her.

*****

"That was some high-quality burping, B." Faith laughed as she finished off her bottle of Dr. Pepper.

"I couldn't help it, it slipped!" Buffy whined as she sat back on the floor and rubbed her full stomach, empty plates and bowls littered around them.

Both girls sat there quiet for a few minutes, lost in their thoughts and their overwhelming 'full' feeling from all of the food that they consumed.

Buffy had managed to slip in a quick, warm, and much less satisfying shower than she had hoped for. The food had helped take the edge off, but she was still feeling a little wound up.

As they lay there in silence, lost in their thoughts, images from the past few weeks began to flood Buffy's mind. Memories of Sunnydale. Of friends lost. Of places she would never be able to visit again.

And just like that, her smile faded and a general somber mood filled the room as a result.

Faith had casually glanced over and noticed the change in the other girl. Had seen her smile fade and watched the unshed tears pool in her eyes, only to be blinked back.

"Hey, no sad stuff." The brunette stated, sitting up from her prone position. "This is the party room. No moping, okay? We can rent porn and take some booze outta the mini-bar and just fun it up." She stated, trying to get Buffy to smile more than anything.

Buffy put on a tiny smile, trying to hide her feelings.

"If it's all the same to you, I'm just gonna go to bed. Think I can use some rest." She said quietly, standing up quickly and moving over to the bed.

Without another sound, she laid down on the far side of the bed, her back turned towards Faith and towards the window. After a moment, she finally uttered a few words, her back still towards the brunette.

"That you for being nice, Faith. I really do appreciate it. I'm just tired is all." She said weakly.

The corners of Faith's mouth cracked up into the teeniest of smiled before she furrowed her eyebrows in concern.

"No problem, B." She said just as quietly, deciding that she should probably rest too.

Without another word, she walked over to her side of the bed, turning off the table-lamp and slipping beneath the soft sheets. She wasn't normally an 'edge of the bed' sleeper, but she didn't wanna crowd Buffy by sleeping in the middle like normal. She stayed motionless on her side of the bed, curled up slightly on her side and facing the blonde.

Only after several minutes of silence did she finally feel the bed shake lightly from the silent sobs of the other girl. Had she not been a Slayer, she may not have felt the subtle movement, but at that moment, every shake felt like an earthquake to her.

This was the moment. This was Buffy breaking down. This was her moment of vulnerability.

And, as Faith had promised herself, she was going to be the strong one.

Without hesitating a moment longer, she scooted across the bed and pressed her body next to Buffy's, placing a hand on the other girl's arm.

Buffy lifted her head for just a moment, turning it to the side just enough to meet Faith's concerned gaze.

"No questions, okay? Just let me do this." Faith said quietly, her head nodding as if to emphasize her words.

The blonde nodded her head in understanding before resting it back on the pillow, letting her sobs take over her once again. She was feeling too much. Happiness. Anger. Hurt. Pain. Elation. She couldn't handle the onslaught of emotion that had hit her at once.

Faith let Buffy cry against her, eventually wrapping an arm protectively around the girl and holding her tight.

This was all new for her. She didn't know how to do the comfort thing.

She shut off her brain and let instinct work for a while. Ignored the niggling feeling that she was getting in her groin as her hornies came back. Tried to ignore the soft feel of Buffy's skin on her. Tried to push the need to feel, to touch, to taste. Tried to ignore the warmth that was spreading throughout her body at the feel of another person pressed so intimately against her.

This was not about her, for a change. This was about Buffy. About being there for her for the first time since she had known the girl.

Still, she couldn't help but feel the sexual pulse pumping through her body, calling out for her to give in, to satisfy the urge.

She wondered just how long she'd be able to stay wrapped up against another body without losing control to the call of the horny . . .

. . . but then she felt the steady rise and fall of the breathing of the girl in her arms. And she realized that maybe this once, she would win out over her impulses. Strong? Sure, she could do strong. She could behave.

At least for now.

But it was only a matter of time, she figured, until she needed to act upon her urges. If she wasn't able to get them out elsewhere . . . surely they'd be taken out upon the closest person to her.

She decided that the next night would be about satisfying the urges and the desires; that she'd run out to a local bar and find some random guy or girl to take advantage of.

But for now, she'd just concentrate on being strong. On being good. On her breathing.

And not at all on the fact that her lips were resting upon the warm shoulders of the girl in front of her.

CHAPTER TWO

The night had been going pretty good, or at least better than Faith had expected.

Buffy continued to sleep peacefully, moving only once to pull Faith's arm under her head as a pillow. Since then, she had been resting with ease, her occasional snore showing exactly how comfortable she was with Faith laying beside her.

Faith, on the other hand, hadn't been able to sleep much at all. First, her concern for Buffy was running over and over in her mind. Concern that she'd never be the same person. Concern that she would suffer at having lost her well-defined place in the world. Concern that she, herself, wasn't strong or experienced enough to be a 'best friend' to Buffy in any way shape or form.

And then there was concern that there was something wrong with Buffy, because there was no way that any human head could possibly weigh that much.

Faith's arm had gone numb after about 10 minutes. The tickling sensation that reverberated up and down it every time that Buffy moved a millimeter had Faith biting her lower lip to keep from laughing aloud. However, she pulled it together and stayed strong, noting that it actually felt nice to spend the night just laying next to someone for a change.

The other thing that kept Faith from sleeping was the almost uncontrollable case of hornies that she was feeling. She wasn't sure if it was the size of the battle they had fought, or the fact that she finally had Buffy all cozied up next to her after seven long years.

There had been no doubt in Faith's mind that part of the reason she and Buffy were never able to be friends in the past was because she'd always cut herself off before getting to that point. To have a crush on someone was one thing, but to have a crush on someone she could never have was a completely different story. In the end, Faith had always kept her distance so that she didn't have a chance to get hurt.

Hurt was the only constant in her life, so she tried to avoid situations that led to it at any cost. But that was then, and this was now. Faith had grown up in more ways than one since she first arrived in Sunnydale. Her biggest feat, in her own eyes, was realizing that though she could never have Buffy in the way she wanted most, she could at least be there for her and let the older girl know that she cared.

There were no hidden reasonings in Faith's actions now. She wasn't helping Buffy so that she could get a one-up in Buffy's book or so she could move in and get closer. She just . . . wanted Buffy to know that she wasn't alone.

And hopefully, Buffy would be able to do the same for her; show her that she, too, wasn't alone in this whole deal. That for once, Faith would finally fit in and be accepted as she was: a bit wild, perhaps a bit crude, kind of nutty at times . . . but a part of their group nonetheless.

With that said, Faith wasn't exactly sure what to attribute her extreme hornies too. She'd had a bit of alone time in the shower, but it still hadn't satisfied the itch. Even after the most extreme slays, a few rounds with her digits normally got the trick done. Granted, this was a much bigger battle. But still . . . a part of her was thinking that it was just the petite blonde slayer that was wrapped up in front of her.

At one point, Faith had tried to wake Buffy so that she could go out for a jog or something, just to let loose some energy.

"B?" She whispered.

After a few moments passed and Buffy still didn't respond, Faith had tried again.

"B?" She asked a bit louder, freezing up when Buffy snuggled back further into her, her firm ass pressing right against Faith's crotch.

Faith gulped, using all the restraint that she could muster to stop herself from grinding up against Buffy's ass.

Trying one more time, Faith's voice took on an almost pleading quality.

"Buffy?"

And then the unthinkable had happened.

Buffy mumbled, sniffled a bit in her sleeping state, and turned around in Faith's arms, pressing their warm bodies even closer together. She rested her head higher on Faith's arm and wrapped her arms over the younger girl's waist, making Faith her own personal pillow.

Just when Faith thought it couldn't get any worse, Buffy's thigh slid between her legs. The sleeping slayer murmured incoherently a bit more before falling right back to sleep, leaving a confused and aroused Faith to fight a battle with her inner angel and devil.

Faith lay there completely rigid for a few minutes, wondering exactly how she could get out of her little predicament. In a moment of desperation, she reached her hand out and rubbed the bedside lamp, hoping that a genie would pop out and grant her a wish or two. Alas, no genie appeared, and Faith was left there holding Buffy and fighting her inner demons.

As the hours passed, Faith was finally able to put the concerns and thoughts of sex out of her mind enough so that she finally dozed off. Again, she couldn't help but notice how nice it actually felt to just hold someone, but she knew that she'd never be able to say that aloud.

It wasn't until the early afternoon arrived that the Slayers began to feel one another stirring. Neither girl made any effort to move much at all. Buffy had moved her arm from Faith's waist so that she could stretch her back, but her arm conveniently snuck back into its warm place a moment later.

And though Faith couldn't be certain, she thought that Buffy's arm now wrapped even tighter around her.

"Morning!" Buffy said, a little too chipper for Faith's liking.

"Hey B." Faith responded, letting her nose graze over the top of Buffy's hair.

"How'd this happen?" Buffy indicated their position, yet made no effort to move.

Faith couldn't help but grin a little, knowing that she had to take this opportunity to mess with Buffy at least a little.

"Well, I was just layin' there, all sleepy and quiet, and you rolled over and kept mumbling about how much you wanted me and stuff. And you were all sniffing my hair and gettin' all touchy and feely, but I put my foot down and told you to just behave for a change and let me sleep. Don't worry, B. I kept ya in line."

She could feel Buffy chuckle a little, happy in knowing that she hadn't crossed the line with the older girl.

"Well, then I owe you oodles of gratitude, Faith. If you hadn't stopped me, we might have spent the entire night having sinful, gratifying, wet hot lesbian sex. Really. I'm forever indebted."

Faith groaned, feeling the uncomfortable yet delicious pressure in her crotch get even worse.

"Alright. Okay. I concede, B. You win."

Buffy chuckled, snuggling even further into Faith's arms.

"I knew that talking about a little bit of gratuitous sex would push you over the edge. You're post-megabattle, Faith. A little self- loving isn't gonna do the trick for you this time around."

Faith pretended to act righteous. "Sister Buffy, when did thou lose that stick from up thy ass? Seriously, B. Admitting to the hornies, talking openly about self-loving, playing up my girl-on-girl fantasies . . . have you been taking 'the drugs?'"

Buffy laughed even harder, not surprised at all in how comfortable she was acting with Faith. It just felt . . . natural. Like it was the way it always should have been.

Minus the snuggling, of course.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Faithy. And honestly . . . there was no stick. It was more of a . . . twig of righteousness. Besides, the twig was long gone once I started having sex with Spike." Buffy added with a chuckle.

Faith remained quiet for a moment, wondering when Buffy would start to brood over the unexpected memories of Spike. However, the blonde seemed to be showing no signs of sadness at the moment.

Unable to stop herself from asking, Faith shifted to her side a little so that she could look into Buffy's eyes.

"How did that all come about anyway? It's not everyday that a Slayer makes a boy-toy out of a vamp, let alone two."

"You're telling me." Buffy said with a chuckle, settling her head down again as she tried to collect her thoughts. "Honestly? I was really messed up at the time. Nothing made sense. He was there. It was nice not being alone. Story: end of."

Faith took a minute or two to let Buffy's words sink in, surprised that she actually believed the explanation. But she still had unanswered questions that she was curious about.

"But, with all that's been going on, and then . . . well . . . what you told him when we were tryin' to get out of the school . . ."

"Oh god," Buffy interrupted, "you heard that? Shit, I didn't think anyone was around."

Faith noticed that Buffy looked upset, so she wrapped her arm over Buffy's side and tried to look into her eyes again.

"Hey, B, you're not gonna get a lecture from me. Far be it from me to be all judgment girl. Really, I . . ."

"Wait, don't even finish that," Buffy interrupted again. "Do you honestly think I loved him?"

Faith shrugged. "Didn't you?"

Buffy took a second to think about it, looking off in the distance for a moment before returning her gaze to Faith.

"No. And that doesn't mean I didn't appreciate him though, or that I'm not sad that he's gone. He died because . . . well, he knew it was him or everyone. He went and got a soul for me, and I think he loved me with it. He used that soul to save us all, and for that I'm forever grateful."

Faith nodded, understanding what Buffy was trying to say. Buffy wasn't in love with Spike, but she appreciated him and what he had don for her; for everyone.

Buffy continued. "When I told him . . . what I did . . . I didn't think anyone was around. I didn't think that it would matter if I told him one last lie if it gave him one moment of . . . peace. After what he was doing for us, he deserved that moment. I hope the Fates have been good to him."

Silenced filled the room as the two slayers got lost in their thoughts. Only after a few minutes did Buffy look up into Faith's eyes again.

"Do you think I'm horrible for lying to him?" she asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

Faith pretended to take a moment to think it over, hiding her grin when she replied, "Yeah, pretty horrible, B. In fact, you should get down on your knees now and ask Jeebus to forgive you and . . . all that crap."

Buffy tried to hide her smile but failed.

"Funny, Faith. Did they teach you sarcasm in prison, or does it come naturally to you?"

Faith laughed aloud, surprised yet impressed by Buffy's forwardness.

"Nah, B. I only took Comedy 101 in prison. Wes got me out before I could move on to Sarcasm for Beginners. But I'm thinking that maybe you could tutor me for awhile."

The two girls laughed together some more, constantly taking jabs at one another but not letting it affect them negatively whatsoever.

Faith ever-so-discretely reached out and rubbed the lamp again, wanting that genie to appear so she could wish that Buffy and her had started out this way in the beginning. However, as the first time, the genie failed to appear. Making a promise to herself, Faith promised that she would take full opportunity at this second chance she was given with Buffy. Being close to her like they were . . . almost gave Faith a sense of wholeness. Like her life was starting to feel more complete.

But being close to Buffy also brought on other realizations, such as that she was still ultra-horny and getting worse as the minutes passed.

"B, can I ask you a question?" Faith broke their friendly banter, rolling onto her back and looking up at the ceiling.

"You mean besides the one you just asked?" Buffy asked with a grin.

Faith responded by lifting her arm and giving Buffy the middle- finger, then proceeded to ask her question anyhow.

"Is it just me, or are you REALLY horny right now?"

Buffy thought it over for a moment before rolling onto her back as well.

"I'm pretty damn horny, Faith, if you really need to know."

Faith chuckled, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands.

"So . . . what do we do about it? Cos if we're gonna be sharing a room, things could get a bit complicated."

Buffy sighed, pondering their options. "Well, I guess there are a couple of options. We could . . . take turns in the bathroom and risk going blind." She looked to Faith, who shook her head as she rubbed her eyes. "Okay, we could . . . ignore the urges and just fill up on sweet and salty foods."

Faith moved her hands and raised one eyebrow at Buffy, causing the blonde to chuckle.

"Okaaaay," Buffy continued, "we could . . . have some of that gratuitous sex together that I teased you about earlier . . ."

This time, both of Faith's eyebrows shot up, causing Buffy to giggle.

". . . or . . ." Buffy finished, "we could just go out to some clubs tonight and see what the night produces in terms of post-slay relief."

Faith nodded at the last option, but her eyebrows were frozen in a permanent raised position from Buffy's second-last option. Buffy noticed the brunette's stunned face and couldn't help but laugh some more.

"Settle down, Faithy, I was just messing with you cos you're so easily messable right now," she laughed. "We'll go out tonight and see what we can come up with. I've never been a casual dater, but . . . I guess our lives are gonna be a lot different now, huh."

"Yeah," Faith agreed. "But that's okay, right? I mean . . . we're gonna be okay, right?"

Buffy looked over at Faith and smiled softly.

"Yeah, I think we will be. We have to be."

A comfortable silence passed between the two girls as they lay on their backs, staring up at the ceiling. Thoughts of their exciting but unknown future racing through their minds and keeping them both in an excitable state.

After a few minutes passed by, Buffy rolled onto her side and looked at Faith, who seemed to be lost in some pretty interesting thoughts.

"What are you thinking right now?" she asked.

Faith grinned, looking at Buffy out of the corner of her eyes. "You mean besides, 'If it was anyone else in this bed but you right now, I'd be having me some morning sex'? Umm . . . breakfast would be nice. You?"

Buffy tried not to laugh, but she couldn't stop the smile that was on her face.

"Besides, 'I'm hurt and shocked by your dismissal of me as a sex object'? Breakfast sounds good."

Faith grinned. "Let's go, princess."

The two girls began to get up from the bed, but Faith was stopped at the feel of Buffy's hand on her arm.

"And Faith?" Buffy asked, waiting until Faith nodded before continuing. "Thanks for . . . everything."

"My pleasure, B. My pleasure."

At that, the two girls got dressed and went to meet the others for a very late breakfast.

*****

The day passed quickly as the two slayers found themselves thrown into the chaos that was their new life in LA. Team Angel, along with Giles and Willow, were working around the clock to find a more permanent home for the Sunnydale crew. A few of the potential slayers, now simply slayers, decided that going home would be their first choice. However, the bigger majority of the girls didn't really have a place to call home as it was and decided to stay on with the Sunnydale crew.

Buffy and Faith went through the motions of the day, chipping in ideas or opinions where necessary, but taking on much more of a back- seat position this time around. They had their share of leading in the past, and now just wanted to be able to sit back while the others worked out the major details. Either way, they knew that they were likely staying right where they were, and that was fine with them.

The night found Buffy and Faith, along with a few of the junior slayers, piled up in a taxi and on their way to the first active club that they could find. Most of the clubs were pretty dead that night, as it was a Wednesday night and most people saved their partying for the weekends.

However, as they drove past one club in particular, Faith noticed a group of attractive guys entering the building.

"There's our jackpot, B." Faith said excitedly, tapping the driver on the shoulder to pull over.

"Are you sure, Faith?" Buffy asked. "Maybe we should keep looking for a bit. There aren't many taxis out, so once we're here, we're stuck."

Faith nodded her head, her eyes fixed on the building. "Yeah, B. This is the place. I can feel it in my bones."

With the decision made, the driver collected his fair and let the girls out of the car, chuckling to himself as he drove off. Buffy noticed his chuckle but didn't seem to care; this was her first night out in a long time and she was going to take full advantage.

Faith paid for all of the girls to get into the club, using the 'mad money' that Angel had given her to use for a fun night out. The junior slayers entered first, large X's marked on their hands to show that they were too young to drink. Buffy and Faith flashed their ID's before making their way into the club and heading directly to the bar.

"Two shots of whiskey, my friend." Faith said to the bartender, flashing her most alluring smile at the shirtless man.

"And for your girlfriend?" The bartender asked, indicating Buffy.

"Little Miss Man-eater here will have something girly and fruity, no doubt." Faith joked, ignoring the eye-roll that she got from Buffy. "What do you suggest?"

Faith watched as the bartender looked around the bar, laughing to himself as he saw the junior slayers hitting on a group of men.

"Sugar, you're gonna have to be more specific." He said with a big smile. "This whole place is filled with things that are 'girly and fruity.'"

Faith's eyebrows furrowed a bit before her eyes followed the bartender's gaze over her shoulder. She turned around to look at the dance floor, noticing all of the attractive and shirtless men dancing . . . together. With one another. In the complete absence of any females besides the group of slayers.

"Oh, you've GOT to be shittin' me." She commented under her breath.

"Faith," Buffy began, "wasn't it your smart idea to bring us to this club?"

Faith's shoulder's dropped. "Yep, it was, B."

Buffy tried to hide her huge grin but failed.

"Faith," she began again, "did you bring us to a club for GAY MEN?"

Faith sighed, instantly turning and drinking down her shots of whiskey.

"Yeah, B, I think I did."

Buffy laughed aloud, unable to collect herself as she saw all of the now confused junior slayers wandering around and Faith mentally beating herself up.

"Excellent plan, Faithy. Well done."

"Yeah, yeah." Faith responded, ordering up another round of shots for herself. "At least the night's not a total loss. I can't get me a man, but I can certainly get me some Jack."

Knowing fairly well that it could be awhile before they got another taxi, the group of girls decided to live it up and make the best out of the situation.

Buffy and Faith ordered up a slew of drinks, knocking them back before hitting the dance floor together. The men gathered around them and cheered them on, not a single person in the entire place able to keep away from the undeniable vibe that the two slayers were giving off together.

The junior slayers danced on tables and any other place where they could find enough room, happy to just be out and having a good time.

When the night was finally over, the group of girls left the club as the lights were turned off and the doors locked.

A gaggle of men walked them out, urging them to come back more often, but to bring some male friends with them.

Both Buffy and Faith laughed at the shared image of Xander and Andrew coming with them next time, but they saved the rest of those humorous thoughts for later. They needed to concentrate on getting their slightly inebriated selves and the junior slayers back to the hotel.

Faith hailed a taxi, stumbling into Buffy as she tried to open the door.

The two girls giggled, hopping into the front seat with the driver as the other girls crowded into the backseat. They all smiled when they saw it was the same driver from earlier that night.

"Luis!" Faith exclaimed, latching onto the driver in what was meant to be a hug but quickly turned into a fumbly mess.

"I see you ladies have good time," Luis commented in broken English. "Next time, you tell ol' Luis you go to lady bar and he take you to Pussycat Club. Much more muchachas for your cha-cha."

The entire car-full of girls broke out into a fit of giggles, laughing and joking around all the way back to the hotel.

As they entered the hotel and tried to discretely get up to their rooms, Faith and Buffy couldn't stop laughing.

"That was a total bust!" Buffy giggled, fixing her thoroughly messed up hair.

"You're telling me." Faith laughed, her voice hoarse from laughing and talking all night long. "Tomorrow, we go to the Pussycat Club and find us some muchachas! Feliz Navidad!"

Buffy laughed again but got serious as Faith's suggestion hit home.

"Are you serious? You want me to . . . and with the . . . muchachas?"

Faith laughed again as she danced her way into the elevator. "It's either muchachas, Faithchachas, or blindness, B . . . take your pick!"

Buffy though about saying 'no' for a moment, but between the alcohol and Faith's influence, the last bit of her sense of righteousness flew out the window.

Dancing her way into the elevator with Faith, Buffy yelled out her best 'ayayayayayay' in the spirit of Luis and muchachas. She collapsed to the ground and pulled Faith into another fit of laughter, both girls knowing that the night hadn't been as big a bust as they had let on.

CHAPTER THREE

Author's Notes: Thanks for all of the reviews on the last chapter. I was fearsome that I'd lost my place in the fic-world, but you all made me feel right at home. Here's the next chapter; I hope you enjoy it, and as always . . . if you have some time, I'd love to hear your thoughts. :p

Surprisingly, both Buffy and Faith made it back to their room without any permanent injuries. Buffy had stumbled a number of times, but Faith was there to catch her at every wobble.

In fact, when it seemed that Buffy was stumbling more than she was making forward progress, Faith stepped in and just picked her up, carrying her the rest of the way to the room. It wasn't to say that Faith wasn't drunk as well; she simply had more experience with drunk-walking than Buffy had.

Plus, she thought it would be a good way to hold Buffy against her body once again. She wasn't sure that their sleeping arrangements would be the same again that night, and she wanted to make sure that she got at least a few minutes to be close to the girl again.

Being physically close to Buffy made Faith feel . . . right in some way. Like their slayer-connection gave her a sense of 'home', for lack of a better word.

Faith wasn't exactly sure why that was the case. Both times she was with the new slayers, in the bus and in the taxi, she didn't get the same feeling. She only got that feeling from Buffy. And as much as her body told her that it was more than just the slayer-bond, she pushed the feelings down and attributed it to the fact that they had been slayers longer than the junior slayers had been.

After all, there's nothing quite like avoidance and playing ignorant to tie up the niggling little questions in a neat little package.

When they finally reached the door to their room, Faith realized that Buffy had the key. She tried to wake Buffy from her alcohol- induced stupor, but all Buffy could do was mumble about needing to pee.

Wanting nothing more than to get Buffy into the room and onto the toilet before being tinkled on, Faith decided that she needed to find the key, and quickly.

Carefully, she braced Buffy against the wall, holding her there with her own body as she searched through the blonde's tight pants for the room key.

Buffy mumbled and giggled at Faith's hands that seemed to be tickling her for no reason. When Faith managed to dig just a little too deep in Buffy's pocket, Buffy's eyes fluttered open and she mumbled, "Hey, not until I'm married."

Faith couldn't help but laugh, the alcohol still making everything seem funny.

After spending just an extra moment or two searching around in Buffy's pockets, Faith finally managed to find the key. With as much skill as she could muster, she continued to hold Buffy up against the wall while fumbling with the keycard, swearing under her breath until she finally heard the little beep of victory.

Knowing full well that Buffy was probably even more likely to stumble now that she was half-asleep, Faith decided to carry her the rest of the way into the room.

She wasn't exactly sure why Buffy was laughing as the crossed the threshold, so she stopped and tried to figure out what was going on.

"You just carried me over the threshold, Fai. I thinks we're married now," Buffy slurred. "Wanna keep looking for more keys?" She asked with a giggle.

Faith laughed as she resumed walking, closing the door behind them before heading toward the bathroom.

"How about you pee first, princess. I'm not exactly into water sports," Faith said and winked, causing a confused look to appear on Buffy's face. Faith chuckled again and shook her head. "Never mind, B. Just do your business and lemme know if you need a hand, k?"

With that, Faith left Buffy in the bathroom and closed the door, barely able to contain her laughter as she finally had a moment to herself.

She couldn't help but wonder if this was really happening to her; was she taking care of a very drunk Buffy who was not at all like the Buffy she used to know? Were they actually having a 'friendship'? Could she really keep being a friend without screwing up?

And did Buffy really offer to let her keep fumbling around in her pockets? Because Faith was pretty sure that if she didn't see some action soon, she was going to cry or burst, and she definitely wasn't a crier.

So lost in her own thoughts, Faith almost forgot that she had left Buffy alone in the bathroom.

She put her ear to the door, trying to make sure that the other girl was okay. When she heard nothing, she tapped on the door.

"Everything okay in there?"

Silence.

"B? You need a hand? I can get Giles . . ." she joked.

After a few moments passed and there was still no response, Faith decided that she needed to make sure everything was okay. Slowly, she started to open the door.

"Cover up, B, I'm coming in. You better not have peed on the floor, cos I'm not . . ." Her voice trailed off as she saw a sleeping Buffy curled up on the bathmat with a towel over her as a blanket. ". . . and you totally passed out, didn't you?"

Faith walked into the bathroom fully and stood over Buffy, noting that she wish she had a camera so she could snap a few photos and show them to the Scoobs the next day.

Her good conscience caught up with her though, and she bent over and scooped Buffy up in her arms. She walked out of the bathroom and toward the large bed, carefully laying Buffy down on the right side and pulling the blankets up over her.

For a moment, it was hard for Faith to catch her breath. Even with her hair all rumbled, even with dragon-breath, even with the little snore that she had going on . . . Buffy always managed to take her breath away. Laying there, sleeping peacefully, trusting Faith enough to be alone with her after all of their bad history; it made Faith need to sit down for a minute.

This was really happening. She was finally on the way to mending one of the biggest screw-ups that she had ever made.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Faith watched Buffy sleep with a little smile on her face. Carefully, tenderly, she reached out and brushed a few strands of hair from Buffy's forehead, letting her fingertips graze the soft skin of Buffy's face.

Slowly, Buffy opened her eyes, feeling the soft touch on her forehead. Feeling Faith's presence over her. Feeling something that she couldn't quite explain.

Their eyes locked and, for a moment, it was as if they both realized they were experiencing that exact same feeling. The feeling that they felt only for one another. Beyond lust, beyond fear, and quite possibly beyond the slayer-bond.

Faith realized that she was closing the space between them, but she couldn't will her body not to move. It was moving of its own accord.

The kiss that she gave Buffy lasted only a few moments, and was barely a kiss at that. Lips pressed together softly, unmoving, but causing a slew of tingles nonetheless.

When Faith pulled back and looked down, Buffy's eyes were already closed, but she wore the tiniest of smiles on her face as she slept.

Smiling, Faith got up and took off her own clothes, throwing on a tee-shirt before crawling onto the bed and under the covers. She kept a bit of space between them, despite the fact that she wanted to be pressed up against Buffy again, their skin warm and soft against each other.

But she didn't dare attempt that.

She was fairly certain that even though Buffy had been drunk, she would remember the kiss in the morning and kick her ass all over their hotel room. They were friends now, or trying to be at least. Taking advantage of a sleeping Buffy while in her own horny state wasn't right, and Buffy would surely agree.

If Faith kept a decent physical distance now, maybe Buffy would forget the brief encounter and attribute the memory to active dreaming. That was only if Faith was lucky, however.

In the meanwhile, she tried to sleep, waiting for the possibly fall- out of the next morning.

*****

Just as the morning before, Buffy and Faith began to wake up at just about the same time. And again, as the morning before, they woke tangled up in one another's arms.

Neither girl was sure when it happened, as they had both slept peacefully the entire night through. However, their bodies found a way to what they both wanted, apparently.

"You alive?" Faith mumbled, feeling the aftereffects of the booze she drank the night before.

"Barely," Buffy murmured back, burying her face against Faith's shoulder to keep the light from her eyes. "You?"

"I'm about 2x2, B. Ask me again once I've had some coffee and bacon."

Buffy groaned. "Don't even mention food. I'll turn inside-out right here."

Faith chuckled, stopping when she felt Buffy wince at the subtle movement.

"Yeah, you defo don't want that taste on your lips, B. Not nice."

Buffy kept her head buried firmly against Faith's shoulder, thus muffling her words a little. "The only thing I taste on my lips now is lip-gloss. Not sure of the flavor though. Let me think on it for a minute . . . oh yeah, 'Lips of Faith.' I'm pretty sure this lip-gloss is called 'Lips of Faith.'"

Faith grinned, unable to help it after recalling their brief moment from the night before. Plus, seeing that Buffy wasn't pummeling her made her rest a bit easier about the subject.

"Oh yeah, that," she recalled. "I was covering you with the blankets and I just slipped, smack-dab on the kisser. Besides, you kissed me back."

Buffy lifted her heavy head from Faith's shoulder, trying to give her a mock look of indignation.

"I do NOT kiss girls." She defended, barely able to contain her grin.

"Lucky for you that I do, huh."

Both girls laughed and settled back down, enjoying the fact that they were able to be near each other so casually again.

"Besides, B," Faith continued, "if we're going out for muchachas tonight, you better get with the kissing of the girls. Or you're gonna be back here goin' blind before the sun is up. We're almost on two days with no . . . ughhh," Faith grunted.

Buffy tried to sit up a little bit at that, but found that her muscles seemed to be made of jello. She opted for rolling onto her back instead.

"About the whole 'muchachas' thing, Faith . . . I don't know how entirely comfortable I am with that, and the ughhh," she looked shyly over at the other girl.

Faith rolled onto her side and proper her head up on her elbow, looking over at Buffy.

"What's up, B? With the way you were teasing me with the 'hot wet lesbian sex' thing yesterday, I thought maybe you found the fun or somethin' while I was locked up. What's the what?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. I mean . . . I can't say I've never exactly entertained the idea. I was a college student at one point, after all. I learned to appreciate the student body," she said with a nervous chuckle.

"So . . . what . . . you strictly dickly then?" Faith joked.

"Not exactly," Buffy answered back, looking a bit confused. "I guess I'm bi-curious at best. But let's not forget that I'm a virgin when it comes to that stuff. I don't wanna go to a club and make myself look like a total doofus. I don't know the rules."

Faith laughed. "There are no rules, B. Go to the club tonight. See what you like. And do what feels right. You get the wiggins and we haul ass outta there before they spin a Melissa Etheridge song. Deal?"

Buffy pondered it for a moment before shaking her head cautiously.

"Really though . . . we can leave if I wig? Cos I have a high- tendency to wig in strange and new places. And wiggy-Buffy definitely does not make with the cool."

Faith smiled. "You wig, we leave. Simple as that."

Buffy took a breath of relief, but was interrupted by Faith.

"Then again, if I come back here alone one more night, I can't be held responsible if I start rubbing up against you when I'm sleeping. I can't control that shit, yunno."

Buffy chuckled at Faith's honesty.

"Right. So, I either find someone to molest, or I get molested by you. Yay! This night is just looking better and better," she said sarcastically before winking at Faith. "Explain to me again why we're sharing a room?"

Faith grinned. "Cos it's meant to be, Buffy. You and me, livin' it up, fun and fancy free. The way it always shoulda been."

"I'll drink to that," Buffy chimed in. "Just, yunno . . . not until I've puked my guts up and swore never to drink again."

"Got it," Faith nodded. "Give you a few hours to rest, then take you out and get tanked again. Can do."

After laughing a bit, Buffy and Faith quieted down again, both secretly noticing the large distance between them on the bed. Neither girl made a move to close the space, but both wanted to.

Faith pondered it for a minute, trying to figure out exactly how she could get closer to Buffy without looking like a loser. She decided to just go for broke and do it in the most roundabout way that she could.

"My shoulder is gettin' kinda cold, yunno."

Buffy looked over at her, amused.

"Well, we can't have that happen, now can we?"

Both girls smiled before Buffy shuffled her way back over next to Faith, getting herself as close as she could before resting her head back on Faith's shoulder.

"That better?" Buffy asked, her eyes already closing.

"Yeah, thanks," Faith responded. "Hey B, my ass is a little cold also. Think you can take care of it too?" She asked, mischief written all over her face.

Without opening her eyes, Buffy reached her hand over Faith's side, giving her backside a nice smack.

Faith's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as a nice warm sting set in. Noting that a spank from a Slayer was about ten times as strong as a normal spank, Faith winced and tried to control herself.

"That oughta warm it up. Sleep now?" Buffy mumbled, trying her best to contain her giggles.

"Yeah, B. Sleep now," Faith answered. "Revenge later."

The two slayers spent a couple more hours in bed, sleeping off the rest of their hangover so they could start the day refreshed and excited about the upcoming night.

*****

"Does anyone have any clothes I can wear?" Buffy shouted down the long corridor. The frantic search was on for an outfit to wear on their night out.

Seeing as that the entire floor was reserved for the Sunnydale crew, Buffy's shouting didn't seem to bother any other hotel guests. It was probably a good thing that they had the floor to themselves, as Faith was currently walking from room to room in her bra and jeans, looking for a shirt to borrow.

"I lay claim to Lexie's black strappy tank," Faith said casually as she walked past Buffy.

"No fair, that thing is gonna be so tight on you. You should let me wear it," Buffy pouted.

Faith stopped and walked back towards Buffy, smiling big as she looked into her eyes.

"Hell yeah it's tight, B, and I'm gonna look good in it. Besides, I don't plan on wearing it for very long."

Buffy rolled her eyes and used the towel that was on her hair to whip Faith's butt as she walked away.

"Fine. I'll just borrow something from Willow," she replied. She almost got angry when she heard Faith laugh loudly at her comment, but she was determined to find a suitable outfit anyhow.

Walking a few rooms down in her bathrobe, Buffy knocked on Willow and Kennedy's door.

"It's Buffy, and I'm here to steal your clothes," she yelled through the door, hopping back and forth on her bare feet.

Willow smiled as she opened the door, holding it open for Buffy to come in.

"I'm not sure I can help you out in the clothes department, Buff. But I think Kennedy has a couple of things that might be user- friendly."

"I owe you big, Will," Buffy sighed as she walked into the room. "Who wouldn't have thought to pack up their clothes during the impending apocalypse?"

"We did," Willow answered with a nod. Seeing Buffy's frown, Willow tried to cover a bit. "But you were all with the big and busy, and we had time when you went for donuts that one time."

Buffy and Willow went through the closet as they made small talk, Willow updating Buffy on the 'permanent home' situation, and Buffy filling Willow in on her past day and a half with Faith.

"So, it seems like you two are getting along pretty good then," Willow commented, looking aside.

"Yeah, we are, Will. But . . . Willow, that doesn't make you any less my best friend, okay?" Buffy added, seeing Willow's slightly worried look.

"I know, Buff. It's just, you know. Faith. Her history with us as a group is pretty spotty. Like a Dalmatian. Or Swiss cheese even. You know what I mean, right?" She looked up and into Buffy's eyes, concern showing on her face.

"I realize that. But she did the right thing, Willow. And she definitely came through for Angel and for us in the end. She just wants to make things better. And she is. She's making me better, Will. Everyone has their own stuff to deal with right now, and she's just making sure that I'm okay. I appreciate it. I appreciate her."

Willow nodded, her shoulders relaxing a bit at Buffy's words.

"Okay, Buffy. I trust you. So long as you know that I'm here for a nice healthy dose of best friend-ness if you need it."

Buffy smiled and gripped onto the shirt and pants she had borrowed from Kennedy's closet. "I know, Will. I can always count on you."

*****

An hour later, Buffy, Faith, two of the junior slayers, Xander, and Andrew were in Luis' taxi, making their way towards the Pussycat Club.

"I look good, right?" Xander asked, adjusting his eye patch.

"Like a million bucks, Xan," Faith answered wearing her trademark grin. "Of course you know it doesn't really matter though, cos we're going to a club for chicks."

"Yes, we are." Xander replied and wiggled his eyebrows. "Who says that maybe Betty and Wilma don't want a little man-wich for their sandwich?"

Before Faith could groan about his comment, Andrew stuck his head into the front of the taxi.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but it was my understanding that we were going to see Return of the King," he piped in from the packed back seat. "Giles said that there was an alternate ending that was only just released."

Faith chuckled. "What Giles meant to say was, 'You're bugging all of the slayers and if we don't get you away from them soon, they're gonna kick your ass.' So, he offered to pay for our night out if we let you tag along. Seemed like a fair deal."

Andrew's jaw dropped open as his eyes widened.

"So what you're saying is, I wore my 'Free Frodo' shirt for nothing?"

"Nah, I'm sure the muchachas are gonna LOVE it, my man," Faith joked.

The taxi was filled with random chatter as Luis drove the group toward the Pussycat Club. As they finally arrived at the front door, they were all dismayed to see the signs unlit and the parking lot empty.

"Oh no, Luis' mistake," the driver apologized. "Wednesday night closed."

"Shit!" Faith exclaimed.

"No lesbians?" Xander whined.

"Typical." Buffy added.

"Does this mean we can go see 'Return of the King'?" Andrew asked.

Buffy and Faith's eyes met, mischief showing on their faces. Faith nodded and Buffy winked.

"Actually, Andrew, we have something even better in store for you. It's not 'Return of the King', but there IS some royalty involved."

A puzzled look crossed Andrew's face. "Royalty?"

*****

The music pumped loudly in the club, the large group of men cheering Buffy and Faith on as they danced to "Hole in the Head" by the Sugababes.

"Oh god. I'm in hell," Xander moaned as he hid in the furthest corner he could find, pulling long sips from his bottle of beer.

"This place isn't so bad," Andrew commented as he looked curiously around the club. "Fancy lights. I don't know what Buffy meant about royalty though."

A bitter smile crept up on Xander's lips.

"Queens, you genius. Buffy was referring to Drag Queens."

"Ohhhh." Andrew replied, looking around. "They certainly don't dress like royalty."

Xander banged his head on the bar, repeating "I'm in hell" over and over.

In the meanwhile, Buffy and Faith were busy dancing up a storm and having a great time with their friends from the previous night. The men gathered around them, forcing them to dance closer and closer to one another.

They were finally pushed completely together, dancing in perfect synchronicity to the music with their arms around each other. For any other people, it would have been hard to keep balanced or to dance with as much ease. But being as attuned to one another as Buffy and Faith had been recently, they danced with ease and grace, causing nearly everyone in the place to stare at them in wonder.

As the music changed to a more grindy song, Faith took the lead and started to grind more with Buffy, their movements becoming more sexual in nature with every beat. Both slayers could feel their hearts pounding in their chests, pumping their blood hard throughout their lithe bodies.

When one of the men randomly shouted for them to kiss, Buffy laughed and Faith just shrugged, looking into Buffy's eyes. Buffy shrugged back and, before they knew it, they were kissing nice and deep. The men around them cheered, causing them to kiss even more enthusiastically.

Only when breathing became an issue did they finally break apart.

"I think I need another drink!" Buffy yelled over the music.

Faith nodded and grabbed her hand, leading her away to the bar. She ordered up another drink for the both of them, smiling at the bartender who gave them the drinks on the house.

"I'm having such a good time!" Buffy shouted again, her voice barely audible over the loud music.

"Yeah, me too, B. Almost forgot what a good dancer you are." Faith shouted, clinking her glass against Buffy's before they both took long drinks.

When the next song started a bit quieter than the one before it, Faith leaned back against the bar and looked at Buffy.

"Hey B, can I ask you a question?" Buffy simply nodded as she sipped on her drink. Faith continued. "You ever hear of friends with benefits?"

Buffy chuckled a bit as she set her drink on the bar.

"No, I live in a cave and only come out to hunt."

Faith smirked, taking another sip of her drink.

"Right then. So . . . what do you think about it?"

Buffy furrowed her eyebrows. "You mean in general?"

"Generally," Faith grinned.

"Generally, I think that with the right person and the right set-up, it's a workable idea."

Faith nodded her head, turning to look out onto the dance floor. She was very careful not to look at Buffy for her next question.

"So, what do you think about it . . . for us?" The slightly scared look on her face wasn't lost on Buffy.

"I think that . . . it's something we need to talk about when I'm not drunk," Buffy added with a laugh.

Faith looked back at her and gave her a wink.

"Fair enough. But for the record . . . that wasn't a no, right?"

Buffy looked up at Faith and gave her a flirty little smile.

"Generally? Right. Come on, Faith, time to dance!"

And with that, Buffy grabbed Faith's hand and led her back onto the dance floor where they were instantly greeted by their cheering friends.

Faith was happy with the way things had just gone. The idea was out on the table, and it hadn't been shot down right away. Granted, she had no idea what made her ask the question. Had she not been drinking, she was fairly certain that the question would have remained hidden away forever.

But she was happy that she asked. And she was even happier that Buffy hadn't jumped on her about it in the more familiar 'righteous' way that she was so used to seeing Buffy respond.

For the moment, she just concentrated on the way her body moved in perfect time with Buffy's, and on the way their bodies would move perfectly together if Buffy would consider her earlier question.

CHAPTER FOUR

Xander had managed to sneak out unnoticed, taking the junior slayers with him. Buffy and Faith didn't notice though, as they had been too busy dancing and just having a good time.

They loved the feeling of finally being able to live. For Faith, it was mostly because she was out of prison and on her way to a better and brighter future. Angel promised that he'd find a way to take care of her legal matters, and she trusted him enough to not give the subject a second thought.

For Buffy, however, it was a bit different. By closing the Hellmouth and activating all of the slayers, she'd basically given herself a new lease on life. She was no longer the one in charge; life and death no longer lay cradled in her hands. Sure, there were slayers to train and work to be done, but . . . it didn't matter. She had never been able to plan her future, because it was too hard to see past this week's apocalypse or next week's disaster.

Now . . . it didn't all rest on her shoulders. There were other capable people, or at last there would be soon.

The thought of being able to live a normal life . . . to get a job, and go out to movies and dinners and dancing . . . it gave her a sense of power and control that she had never had before. More than that, it gave her a sense of elation she hadn't felt in ages.

She'd deal with planning her life and mixing her slaying with normalcy at a later time. But for right now, she wanted to celebrate. She wanted to live. She wanted to dance.

And she wanted Faith there with her, because the brunette always seemed to be able to bring the fun. She always had been able to.

But this time, she was doing it in a more adult and responsible manner that had Buffy wanting to be around her even more and more.

Of course, Buffy could hang out with Willow and Xander and the rest of the Sunnydale crew. But at this time, she knew that Faith was likely feeling the same things she was as far as freedom and the future went. She knew that both she and Faith could relate on a more personal level, as they were more alike than either girl cared to admit.

So hang out with Faith she did, and having fun she definitely was.

As the night before, Buffy and Faith ended up closing the club and walking out as the lights were being turned out for the night. When they noticed that Xander and the junior slayers were gone, they relaxed and realized that they could get back to the hotel at their own leisure.

Instead of hailing a taxi straight away, they stumbled across the parking lot and to the 24-hour diner next door to get some food.

Before they stumbled into the diner, they noticed Andrew walking across the parking lot with a group of men.

"Andrew!" Faith yelled, chuckling as he turned towards them, startled.

"Oh, hello Faith. You're looking quite . . . wobbly. Is gravity the newest big bad?"

Faith tried to keep her balance, laughing as she wobbled around.

"Nah, the gravity is fine, Andy ol' boy. It's the whiskey and tequila that are playing the role of the big bad tonight. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but am I seriously seeing you walkin outta here with a group of fa . . ."

"FAITH!" Buffy interrupted, giggling and elbowing Faith in the ribs. "Let Andrew tell us about his friends."

"This is Butch and Steve. Fellas, this is Faith and Buffy, acquaintances from my former home. They're intoxicated; ignore any lies they may tell. Faith, Buffy . . . the guys were just taking me to an all-night cinema to show me their theories on why Aragorn's true love was not, in fact, the lovely Arwen."

"Let me guess . . . it's the blonde elf, right? Cos they're both pretty-boys." Faith said, holding onto Buffy for balance. At this point, they were pretty much holding each other up.

"Don't be silly, Faith." Andrew said, annoyed but confused at the same time. "Anyhoo, my new pals and I are off. Be steady, dear slayers."

And with that, Andrew went off into the night with his new friends, leaving two giggling Slayers behind in his wake.

"He's in for a world of surprises." Buffy said with a chuckle as she started to walk towards the diner.

"You've got that right, B. Little guy is gonna be scarred for life. If he doesn't end up liking it, that is."

The two girls stumbled into the diner, ordering up both breakfast and dinner cos they couldn't decide which they wanted. After chowing down their food and barely sobering up even just a bit, they decided to flag down a cab and head back to the hotel for the night.

They would have went out and partied more, but the sun was starting to come up. Unless they wanted to dance to Celine Dion at the local convenience shop while sipping on slushies, their evening was done.

Somehow, they managed to give the cab driver the correct fare, plus a nice big tip. After all . . . he could have driven them all around LA and they wouldn't have known, seeing as how they were both passed out all over one another in the back seat. But he actually took them right to the hotel, dropping them off safely at the front entrance so they could stumble up to their room together.

After taking a brief nap in the elevator, the two slayers stumbled down the hall and to their room, not even noticing the curious junior slayers sticking their heads out of their rooms to see what the commotion was.

Somehow, they actually managed to end up in their room, flopping on top of one another on the bed.

"Ouch, don't lay on my stomach," Buffy mumbled. "It's all full and . . . squeaky. I don't think breakfast and dinner was such a good idea. Either that or I ate a mouse."

Faith groaned and rolled off of Buffy. Not noticing how close she was to the edge of the bed, she flopped right onto the carpeted floor, landing with a loud thump.

Buffy sat up and gasped, quickly covering her mouth to smother the giggles that were escaping.

"It lacked grace, but the landing was superb. I give it . . . an eight!" She laughed, holding up seven fingers no her hand as if she was judging a diving competition. After laughing to the point where it hurt her stomach, she flopped back onto the bed and continued a giggle/whimper hybrid.

Faith lay still on the floor, trying to figure out exactly what happened.

"You pushed me!" She mumbled, sitting up and rubbing the back of her head. "I can believe you pushed me off the bed!"

Buffy gasped, a look of indignation on her face. "I did not! I think you may be under the affect of alcohol, Faith . . . Secretlastname," she slurred. Suddenly, her brows furrowed and she looked down at Faith again. "Do you even have a last name?"

Faith completely ignored the question, struggling to get up from her spot on the floor while rubbing the back of her head.

"You fight dirty, Summers. And you need to learn a lesson."

Buffy kept giggling, not seeming threatened at all by the way Faith was getting up from her spot on the floor and glaring at her.

"Aww, whatcha gonna do, Faithy? Toss me on my ass? I'm already laying down, genius."

Faith grinned. "Nah, you can stay where you are, B. You gave me an eight on my ass-first dive onto the floor, but you still haven't judged my belly-flop."

Buffy barely had time to register what Faith said before she saw a mess of brown hair flying at her. A split-second later, she felt Faith's body flop onto her, instantly pinning her to the mattress.

"Ughhhhh!" Buffy cried out, feeling quite smushed by the other girl's now dead-weight on her. "I can't believe you did that, cow!" She struggled helplessly, not able to budge Faith at all, especially now that she seemed to be snuggling up and clinging to Buffy's body. "Ugh. I so owe you one now."

"Nah, consider us even, B." Faith mumbled as she nuzzled her face against Buffy's upper chest. "How could I charge you for my services when I get to conveniently rest my head on your chest? We're more than even."

It only took Buffy a second to forget the crushing weight on her as a tingle began to run through her body. She suddenly remembered how horny she was, and how good Faith's body felt against hers.

She had felt it both nights that they had spent together since they arrived in Los Angeles. A tingle that ran through her body like a soft electric current, pulsing constantly every second that their bodies touched.

Buffy had wondered why she felt it, and if Faith was feeling the same thing. Sure, she could take the easy way out and blame it on the slayer bond, but . . . that couldn't solely explain it. This was a feeling of freedom, of anticipation, of comfort . . . of lust.

And she was definitely feeling the lust at the moment.

Her fingers started to unconsciously stroke up and down Faith's back, causing Faith to look up into her eyes.

Faith flicked her tongue over her lips, suddenly noticing how dry they were. She knew that this could blow up in her face. She knew that Buffy had asked if they could talk about it when they were sober. But . . . the moment felt right. It felt like it could happen if they both wanted it enough.

And damn, did Faith want it!

Both Faith and Buffy looked deep into one another's eyes, waiting for the other to say something or make a move.

Faith finally went for broke and spoke up.

"B . . . do you wanna do this?"

Buffy was sure that she had never heard Faith sound so . . . timid. She knew that Faith didn't want to ruin the friendship that they were building, and frankly, neither did she. But there was no denying that they were still horny from the big battle, and that there was something between them that just couldn't be denied.

Sure, she could go out and find someone random. She hadn't done that before, but . . . how hard could it be? Still, sex with a stranger could be unsafe, as well as just more trouble than she wanted to go through. Besides, their previous two nights had yielded no answers to their little problem.

When all was said and done, having a friend with benefits seemed to be the best possible option. It was either that, a stranger, or having a mental breakdown from the constant hornies.

And Faith was, as hard as it was for Buffy to believe, her number one choice. Of all of the gang from Sunnydale and even LA, Faith was the only person that Buffy believed a 'friends with benefits' situation would work with. The brunette understood how it worked, and best of all . . . she was the one who had suggested it.

Having made up her mind with her silent reasoning, Buffy bit her lower lip and hesitantly nodded her head as she looked deep into Faith's eyes.

A small smile crept onto Faith's lips. She leaned forward and brushed her lips quickly over Buffy's before pulling back and looking into her eyes again.

"Yeah?"

Buffy copied Faith's move, leaning in and giving her a quick kiss on the lips before pulling back a few inches and looking into her eyes.

"Uh-huh."

Faith grinned, repeating the gesture again but letting the kiss linger a moment longer this time.

"You sure?" She asked as she pulled back again. "No take-backs and no do-overs. We do this and we're committed to the cause: friends with benefits. Sex with no commitment, no crying, no gettin upset cos of un-returned phone calls, no jealousy, and no . . . I repeat, NO doing the girly clingy thing. You down, B?"

Buffy pondered it for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip.

"So, we have the sex but I don't get chocolate and flowers afterwards?"

Faith chuckled, kissing Buffy's lips quickly again as they remained as close to one another as possible.

"Yeah, B, that's about right."

Buffy grinned and held out her hand to Faith to seal the offer.

"Flowers make me itch and chocolate makes me fat. Sounds like a solid plan to me."

Faith took Buffy's hand and shook it, flashing her a huge grin as they inched closer together.

Buffy's breathing quickened, her nervousness at the new situation quite apparent. She wasn't scared of doing this with Faith; she was nervous of doing it with Faith. You know . . . IT. Not only had she never had sex with another woman, but she hadn't even seen it on a video. She'd blushed and turned the channel when the sex scene on Bound came on while she was watching TV with Willow one time, and that was her closest brush with lesbianism that she had ever had.

She vaguely remembered the mattress being on the floor, and Gina Gershon's hand between Jennifer Tilly's . . .

. . . and enter the panic.

Buffy suddenly realized exactly what was bout to happen. Sex with Faith. Faith, who was a woman, and owning of the girly parts. Girly parts of which Buffy really didn't know exactly what to do with. Of course, she wasn't prude enough to try to act like she had never masturbated. She was a slayer, and slayers had certain needs and desires.

And if she was totally honest with herself, she couldn't deny having though about women in a sexual way before. While masturbating.

Even that wasn't entirely true, though. It wasn't women that Buffy had thought about; it was Faith. Who, of course, was a woman. God, was she a woman! But in the last couple of weeks before the collapse of the Hellmouth, Faith had brought a rush of old memories back to Buffy's mind. Memories of long nights together when they had first met, slaying and dancing and flirting. And memories of what she'd do to her tight little body the second she'd hop into the shower when she got home from her quasi-dates with Faith.

Everything aside, Buffy knew her own body, and what exactly made it feel good. She didn't know what type of experience Faith had, nor did she have any desire to learn of her past misadventures in the realm of lesbianism. She just decided to go with the flow, try to read Faith as best as she could, and do things to Faith that she, herself, would like.

Faith watched, entertained, as Buffy seemed to have some type of quiet mental breakdown. Buffy's had spaced out as soon as Faith had started to lean in closer to her, so Faith had to sit back and watch the inner struggle that Buffy was going through.

She smiled as Buffy's eyebrows furrowed, then as she blushed, and then as a look of determination crossed the blonde's face. At that point, Faith decided to help end Buffy's inner turmoil. Without any further hesitation, she placed her fingertips under Buffy's chin, waited until Buffy met her gaze, and leaned in and began to kiss her.

Their kisses were chaste at first, allowing them time to adjust to the new sensations. As it turned out, the kissing was great foreplay, as they both began to get bolder with every kiss.

Faith was surprised to feel Buffy taking initiative, running her tongue over Faith's bottom lip so that she could kiss her deeper. Faith obliged accordingly, parting her lush lips to let Buffy's tongue explore her moist, warm mouth.

Buffy sighed a bit into Faith's mouth, even letting a moan escape as Faith began to suck on her tongue.

Pulling back for a moment to catch her breath which seemed to have been ripped from her chest, Buffy grinned and looked into Faith's eyes.

"That was . . . hot."

Faith grinned, letting her fingertips run from under Buffy's chin, across her collarbone, and down her arm.

"You like?"

"Oh yeah." Buffy purred in her still drunken state, leaning in for another kiss.

Her judgment, however, was still a bit off, and she forgot exactly how close she was to Faith until their foreheads clonked off of one another.

"Ow! Jesus, Buffy, are you trying to knock me out? We can't have sex if we're unconscious." Faith joked. "What the hell is your head made of anyways, lead?" Faith asked, remembering just how heavy Buffy's head had been on her arm the last two nights in a row.

"Sorry!" Buffy apologized, embarrassed. She rubbed her forehead, instantly noticing the goose-egg that was slowly appearing. "I didn't mean to . . . I was just . . . there was kissing, and there should have been more, and I . . ." she rambled, not noticing the amused look on Faith's face.

"Relax, B . . . there's still sex to be had. Why don't you just lay back a bit and let me . . . get things started?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Buffy smiled, leaning back onto her elbows and watching Faith with a seductive look on her face.

Faith hovered over Buffy, making the older girl shiver as she trailed her hair over the length of her arms. She lowered herself gently onto Buffy's body, only letting part of her weight rest on her so that Buffy could feel free to respond in whatever way felt good.

Buffy felt her heart beating hard in her chest as Faith's lips brushed over hers again, instantly remembering how incredible it felt to even be simply kissing the girl. Her whole body responded in a way that it never had before with anyone she was sexually involved with. This was new. This was different. This was good.

Faith's kisses became more determined, their tongues soon sliding over and around one another. Buffy wrapped her arms around Faith's back, allowing Faith to rest more fully on her.

This was making out. This was good. They were slowly getting more comfortable with one another and with what was going to soon be happening.

When kissing was no longer enough, Buffy let her hand slip under the back of Faith's shirt, letting her fingertips roam over the soft skin of Faith's back. She had obviously hit one of Faith's more pleasurable points, as the brunette moaned softly into her mouth.

Encouraged, Buffy's touches became more intent, caressing the spots on Faith's back and sides that made her moan or breathe in a different way. The good kind of way.

She suddenly began to think that this whole 'sex with girls' thing wasn't as hard as she was thinking it would be.

And that's when she hit Faith's bra clasp.

Buffy wasn't sure exactly what to do next; should she unclasp Faith bra so that she could get a look at her surely gorgeous breasts, or did she leave it be and let things progress at Faith's speed? And if she unclasped Faith's bra, what then?

Deciding not to get too wrapped up in what-if's and how's, Buffy went for broke and let her fingers snap open the clasp to Faith's bra. It took her a moment or two, as her alcohol-induced haze made even the simplest task much more difficult.

She knew it was the right move when she felt Faith smile against her lips.

And then Faith's lips were gone from hers, and it took Buffy a moment or two to realize that Faith was now straddling her waist with her fingertips under the hem of her own shirt.

Faith wiggled her eyebrows at Buffy before lifting her shirt up and over her head.

Or, at least partially over her head.

Buffy managed to move her gaze from Faith's loosely bra'd breasts up to her face, which was currently obstructed by her inside-out shirt.

"Shit!" She heard Faith mumble.

"What?" Buffy asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"The tag is tangled up in the back of my hair. It's stuck." Faith answered, her voice muffled through her shirt.

"Well, can't you just pull it free?" Buffy asked, confused as to why this was such a big deal. Faith's half-clad breasts hung only two feet in front of her face, teasing her ever so subtly as the unclasped bra threatened to fall and reveal them at any moment.

Buffy began to hope that Faith would have a violent sneeze that would jolt the bra down.

"Sure I can, Einstein, so long as you don't mind me having a huge bald-spot on the back of my head from where the tag ripped it out."

Buffy suddenly understood exactly how stuck Faith was in her shirt and realized that she needed to help. ASAP. Because they needed to be having sex. Like, now.

Without thinking first, Buffy immediately sat in an upright position, not realizing what her movement did until it was too late.

A small high-pitched scream escaped Faith's throat as she was tossed off of Buffy and onto the floor, yet again.

Buffy's eyes widened at the spectacle before her.

"I . . .shit . . . oh god . . . sorry! " She rambled, doing her best to get up from the bed so that she could help Faith up and out of her tangled mess.

However, she failed to notice that her right foot had become tangled in the bed sheets. As soon as she tried to stand, her foot missed the floor for being tangled in the sheets and she fell right over onto the already displaced Faith. She landed with a loud thud, causing Faith to yell out.

"Holy shit! You made me bite my lip, B! Are you cursed or something?"

Buffy struggled to get free from the mess of blankets that trapped her on Faith, scoffing as she answered Faith.

"Do NOT even joke about curses. I'm like fly-paper for curses, and everything else icky, gross, and smelly. Do NOT jinx it." She answered, finally getting to her feet.

Faith just lay on the floor and whimpered, her pride and libido temporarily deflated by the series of events that had occurred in the past ten minutes.

"Do you think you can just . . . go get the scissors from the bathroom and help me out here, B?" Faith asked from within the confines of her tangled shirt and the bed sheets.

"Uh, yeah," Buffy answered, finally defeated.

She stumbled her way to the bathroom and fetched the scissors from the toiletries basket, fixing her rumpled hair in the mirror before returning to help Faith. She knew that the sex idea was over for the night, but there was no reason that she couldn't still look presentable.

Making her way slowly back into the main room, Buffy froze in place as she saw that Faith's bra had slid down her arms, revealing her full, round breasts. Taken aback by the sight, Buffy took a step forward, only to trip over one of her hastily discarded shoes from when they had returned to the room.

She tried her best to steady herself as she fell, keeping the scissors as far away from her body so that she could avoid injury. As she landed, she felt the scissors penetrate something tough that was laying on the floor. A large tear sounded through the room as the metal penetrated what seemed to be a tough, sturdy material.

Buffy kept her eyes closed, not wanting to look at what she knew was something truly horrifying. She kept completely still with her eyes clenched shut, listening to the gasp from across the room as Faith scurried up to look over the bed.

"Nooooooo, not my boots!" Faith yelled as she poked her head out the bottom of her shirt, her arms flailing around in an effort to free herself from the tangles mess she was in.

Buffy cringed, opening one eye enough to see the long metal scissors sticking right through the top of Faith's famous black boots.

No, there would be no sex tonight. There would be mourning over boots and over what was now the most embarrassing night of both of their lives.

They might not have any jobs lined up for the immediate future, but at least both girls knew that they could always fall back on clown school.

CHAPTER FIVE

Buffy was surprised that Faith had only mourned her boots for about an hour before she went to sleep. Actually, she more passed out than fell asleep. Massive amounts of alcohol and dancing will do that to you.

As Faith had cursed, moaned, and grumbled, Buffy did her best not to fall asleep in the plush armchair near the bed. She had apologized profusely and offered to buy Faith a new pair, but Faith had mumbled something about 'not going to the pound to buy a puppy when your best friend dies.'

Buffy had managed to fall asleep for a few minutes in the chair, ignoring the general fuss that Faith was making as she lay on the floor with her mauled boot. When she woke from her five-minute nap, she realized that Faith, too, had fallen asleep while cradling her boot in her arms.

She stumbled over to the sleeping girl, smiling at how small she looked curled up on the floor. Buffy also realized how much hell she was going to catch in the morning for the maiming of an innocent boot. It wasn't just any old boot. This boot was a celebrity. It had been around as long as Buffy had known Faith; she didn't want to even think about what Faith had to do or what demon she had sold her soul to in order to keep the things from reeking.

And then Buffy started to get a little bit scared. What if they woke up in the morning and things were different? No, they hadn't had sex. But they had done things that were slightly more than friend-ish. Had they not been so clumsy and uncoordinated, they most likely would have finished what they started.

In fact, Buffy was almost happy about the boot-maiming incident, as it might draw some of the attention away from the almost-sex that they had.

Still, they had never established firm rules. Sure, Faith spat out a few guidelines . . . no jealousy, blah blah blah. When Faith brought up the notion of friends with benefits in the club, Buffy immediately thought that it could work if they were both on the same page. She knew that after all that had happened, there was likely no chance that neither she nor Faith were up for big new relationships.

But that didn't change the fact that they both had basic needs, and seeing as that her life was much less complicated now, she was ready to act on said needs. For the first time in . . . well, a long time . . . she was ready to be a little selfish and put herself, and her own needs, first.

Going out to a club to find a random bedmate hadn't really appealed to Buffy, but she decided to try it out just to say that she had. When Faith had thrown out the idea of the two of them together, it almost made perfect sense to her. Granted that she had never been with a woman before, the idea didn't squick her out. That had to count for something.

And the best part was that she knew that neither she nor Faith would get attached to one another, as they had always been like oil and water together: fine while separate, but unmix-y when forced together. At least for long periods of time.

So maybe that analogy wasn't the greatest. But she knew that there would never be any earth-shattering relationship between herself and Faith, so she didn't mind leaping in. At least it would be easy to walk away when all was said and done, and that in itself was a big relief for Buffy.

But now she wasn't exactly sure of where they stood. Had she ruined their friendship and their chances of friends with benefits with her general clumsiness and the maiming of the boot?

Buffy, of course, was willing to give it yet another attempt, but she had to be sure that Faith wanted to as well before she would act on it again. However, she was perfectly fine leaving well-enough alone if Faith dropped the subject. She'd suppressed her needs in the past . . . surely she could do so again. This time seemed especially difficult, but Buffy was adamant about beating the urge if that was the case. If Faith turned her away, she'd just . . . repress, repress, repress.

It was nothing that a few years of therapy down the road wouldn't be able to fix.

Or at least a small investment in a very durable vibrator.

After much internal debate, Buffy used the last of her strength to pull Faith up and onto the bed, collapsing on it herself after she had situated Faith near the center. Carefully, she pried the boot from Faith's arms and tossed it onto the armchair, wincing slightly as it bounced off the chair and landed on the floor with a loud thud.

She stole a peek at the sleeping girl beside her and, realizing that she was out like a light, relaxed back into the pillow and temporarily put the memory of the boot and the embarrassing evening out of her mind so that she, too, could sleep.

*****

Buffy awoke to the bright L.A. sun only to realize that she was alone in the bed. She peeked one of her eyes open, taking a peripheral glance around the room to see if she could spot an angry slayer with a pair of scissors and a taste for revenge. Seeing only the mess that they had made of the room the night before, she sat up and glanced more fully around the room.

Faith's boots, as well as her jacket, had disappeared.

Sighing as she flopped back down onto the mattress, Buffy realized that she had gone and finally driven Faith away. No goodbye note, no goodbye revenge, and not even a goodbye kiss. She couldn't believe that Faith would leave over something as silly as a pair of boots, but she couldn't even focus on that right now. The loud banging in her head from her previous night of drinking and 'debauchery' was finally catching up with her.

Knowing fully well that sleep was the best thing to clear her head and take the pain away, she rolled onto her side and curled up with the pillow Faith had been resting on, taking in a deep breath and she tucked it under her chin.

She'd deal with the missing slayer in a couple of hours. Maybe by then Faith would come to her senses and make her way back to the hotel.

*****

After another few hours had passed, Buffy awoke this time not to the bright sun, but to the feel of someone yanking the pillow out from her arms. A small grunt escaped her throat as she clung to the pillow, finally letting go as she felt herself being pulled by it towards the edge of the bed.

"Cut it out, Summers. First you kill my boot and now you steal my pillow. What next . . . are you gonna clean the toilet with my toothbrush?" Faith asked sarcastically but without even a hint of malice in her tone.

Buffy knew that Faith was trying to act pissed off but was, in actuality, not.

"Maybe after I use it to clean the lint out of my bellybutton." Buffy answered with a yawn, trying to pull the pillow out of Faith's arms.

"That . . . is pretty sick, B. You're nastier than I thought." Faith commented as she pulled off her jacket and climbed onto the bed in her tank and jeans.

She slid underneath the covers, fumbling underneath them to pull off her jeans and kick them off to the side. Faith had never quite been a modest person, so Buffy was somewhat surprised to see her acting so reserved while getting undressed.

"Where'd you go anyways," Buffy asked, "and why didn't you say you were going?"

Though Faith was now resting back with her head on her pillow, Buffy kept trying to steal it back, knowing fully well that she rested more comfortably with her arms around something.

Faith was amused with Buffy's actions for a moment, but quickly became annoyed when she couldn't explain her absence for trying to defend her pillow. In a quick move, she grabbed Buffy's arm and tugged the girl closer, wrapping Buffy's arm over her stomach so that she was using Faith like she had been the pillow.

Buffy smiled and rested her head back down on her own pillow, tightening her arm around Faith's waist just a bit as Faith began her explanation.

"I just went for a walk, B. Needed some air, some time to unwind. And I borrowed a hundred bucks from Big A so that I could get some new boots. No big."

Buffy frowned a little.

"Did I mention that I'm sorry?" She asked, cringing a little as she said the words.

Faith smiled a little, using her right hand to play with the arm that Buffy had draped over her stomach.

"Yeah, ya did. Don't worry `bout it, B. They've been through worse. Maybe it was time for a change. Besides . . . it was an accident. We were drunk and clumsy, and . . . yunno." Faith said, trying not to look directly at Buffy but focusing more on the way they were now playing with one another's hands on her stomach.

"Yeah." Buffy agreed nervously. "We were pretty . . . drunk."

"Yep." Faith agreed, the conversation a bit awkward but both girls at ease as their fingertips met again and again.

"That was some crazy string events, huh? With your shirt, and the bed, and the . . . scissors." Buffy said with a nervous chuckle. "I guess that was our sign right there, huh."

"Yeah, totally." Faith agreed. "That was definitely someone's way of telling us to stop."

"Yep." Buffy agreed, trying not to be too obvious as she snuck a peek up at Faith's face to see if she could gauge what she was thinking.

Faith had taken the exact same opportunity to glance over at Buffy's face, both girls freezing a bit as their eyes met. Buffy chuckled nervously as she tried to move her gaze away, but she found that she couldn't. She was lost in the deep brown eyes that were looking at her with confusion and desire both at the same time.

"So . . ." Faith hedged, ". . . it was a mistake then, right?" Her hand never stopped playing with Buffy's during the whole conversation, but now her fingertips slowed down so that it seemed as if they weren't moving at all.

"Oh, totally." Buffy agreed again, though her head seemed to shake 'no' as she said the words. "It was just a mistake, and we were just . . . mistaken," she continued. "We should totally just forget about it, right?"

"Right." Faith said with a bit more certainty, not even noticing that her fingertips started moving again and that her fingers seemed to have locked together with Buffy's now.

"Good. Great." Buffy said, finally able to move her gaze away from Faith's. She let a large breath out, almost relieved that the conversation went the way it did.

That was that. What had happened wasn't meant to, and the whole crazy idea of 'friends with benefits' was now thrown out the window.

"Or maybe we shouldn't." Faith suddenly added, squeezing Buffy's hand a little bit as it still lay draped over her stomach.

Buffy had just about realized what Faith said when she felt her body being moved back a bit and Faith's lips pressed softly against hers.

The kiss took them both by surprise; Faith because she didn't actually know what her body was doing, and Buffy because she genuinely thought that they had missed their chance.

But as their soft lips pressed together once and lingered, it was almost impossible to stop them from moving again, lips parting further to taste and feel more. Their slow kisses remained soft but the urgency behind them increased even more as both girls began to fill with excitement.

This was it. It was now or never. Do or die. Hot wet sex or a trip to the sex toy shop.

The choice was apparent as Buffy parted her lips, allowing Faith's tongue to enter her mouth. It wasn't their first kiss. They had kissed in the club after being spurned on by the group of men, and there was that time that Faith had kissed Buffy on the forehead before running off to the Mayor.

And through all that time, Buffy had never quite forgotten exactly how soft Faith's lips were, and how she had secretly yearned to feel them as they were now, soft yet insistent against her own.

It didn't take long before the slayers were breathing heavy into one another's mouths, all of the days of sexual frustration coming to a head now. They kissed as if they had done so a hundred times before, yet their hands roamed each other's bodies as if it was their first time touching. Like they were desperate to feel more, to know every curve and secret that their clothes had hidden for so many years.

Buffy found herself scooting up a bit more to be even with Faith, raising her arms up over her head so that Faith could finish pulling off the shirt that her hands had been so busy roaming under. She heard Faith snigger a bit as she pulled the shirt off of Buffy without a hitch, reclaiming some of the cool that she had lost the night before.

The blonde slayer couldn't help but smile at Faith's reaction to her seemingly simple feat. Before Faith could lean in to kiss her again, Buffy lowered her arms from above her head and held Faith's face in her hands, stroking her thumb over Faith's dimples before leaning in to kiss her soft lips yet again. There was no doubt that a moment had passed between them as the two girls had made brief eye-contact, both Buffy and Faith feeling a tiny flutter in their stomach before Buffy ended the moment by leaning in for another kiss.

There would be time to ponder the flutter later. Now was time for sex. Sex that seemed to be getting closer and closer to happening as Faith pulled back to lift off her own tank top. She tossed it across the room before taking a moment to sit back and appreciate Buffy's nearly-naked form, grinning as she watched Buffy doing the exact same to her.

"Not bad, right?" Faith asked with a grin.

"Nothing I haven't seen before." Buffy responded, trying to hide her own grin as she pretended to be unimpressed.

Faith scoffed. "Don't make me put the shirt back on, B."

Buffy laughed and put her arms around Faith, pulling the girl down with her so that she laid half on top of her body.

"You better not. If you do, how am I gonna do this?" Buffy asked as she gently cupped Faith's breast in her hand, letting her thumb roll ever so lightly over Faith's hardened nipple.

"Right." Faith answered as she peppered small kisses over Buffy's lips, down to her neck, and across her collarbone. "Shirts are definitely of the bad right now."

Buffy smiled and let out a small laugh which was quickly followed by a moan as Faith began to suck and kiss over her pulse point. That was it . . . Faith had found her weak spot. She'd never let Angel kiss there after he had drank from her, Riley was too busy slobbering over her to notice her neck, and there was no way that she was even going to let Spike there. Her sweet spot had gone unloved for so long, and now Faith was focusing all of her attention on it as Buffy moaned in appreciation.

Faith continued to kiss and suck on Buffy's pulse point as Buffy held her loosely against her neck with a hand tangled in the back of her hair. She loved that Buffy actually seemed into this . . . was actually enjoying herself. She found that she had to pinch herself once or twice to see if this was really happening, but she didn't wake up from some hot and horny dream. She was very much awake, with a very hot and horny Buffy playing with her nipple.

Faith kissed her way over Buffy's neck, up behind her ear, and then she finally kissed the shell of Buffy's ear softly, loving the small gasps and moans that the girl was making.

"B," she whispered against Buffy's ear, "I want you to come for me."

Buffy moaned at Faith's words, and then again as she felt Faith's wandering hand stop between her legs, letting a single finger trace upward once over her already moist panties.

"I don't think that will be a problem," Buffy responded, turning her head to the side so that she could capture Faith's lips with her own. They kissed yet again, their lips becoming more insistent as the moments went by. Buffy pulled back after a few moments, just enough so that her lips brushed against Faith's as she spoke: "But I want you to come for me too. With me. I want you to come with me, Faith."

Faith smiled against Buffy's lips before kissing her with everything that she had been holding back up until that point. They kissed hard now, deep and quick as Faith's hand began to fumble with Buffy's panties.

She fumbled for a moment or two, even trying to rip the side of the panties for easy access. The panties, however, refused to tear, a seemingly quiet oath to protect the goods that lay underneath. Undeterred, Faith simply slid her fingertips underneath the side of the steadfast panties, almost losing herself when she felt exactly how wet Buffy was.

Buffy shuddered with the contact Faith made with her, her shaking body giving up the cool façade that she was trying to keep on at all costs. This was good for her, but it was also a bit scary. It was new, and . . . she didn't want to screw up. She didn't want to let Faith, or herself, down.

Faith must have felt Buffy shaking after the initial shudder and she pulled back from the kiss so that she could look into Buffy's eyes.

"Are you okay?" She whispered.

Buffy nodded, trying to shake off her sudden unease. "Yeah, just . . . new at this. Big with the intimidation." She had no doubt in her mind that she was blushing now. She almost wanted to crawl off somewhere and be embarrassed when she saw a warm smile spread on Faith's face.

"Don't be intimidated. We're friends, B. Adult friends. And we're giving each other what we really, really need." She said with a small chuckle. "Yeah, it's new. But just go with it. Who knows . . . ya might like it."

Buffy smiled at her, feeling her inhibitions shed almost immediately.

"Besides," Faith continued, "if it's not feeling `right', just say the word and we stop. End of discussion. `Kay?"

Buffy nodded her head, then brought her hand up to Faith's cheek again as she looked into her deep brown eyes. Faith smiled and leaned her head into Buffy's hand before turning to kiss her palm. Neither girl had planned on tenderness, but it was there, no matter how you at it.

Without hesitation, they started kissing again, eager to finish what was started the night before. They kissed a bit softer now, lips and tongues touching and tasting and enjoying every moment.

Throwing caution to the wind, Faith began to move her fingertips, sliding them around Buffy's wet folds within the confines of her tight panties. They basked in the slick heat, feeling as if they belonged there. As if they had been there before. As if they would never leave. She teased her fingers softly over Buffy's hardened clit, teasing Buffy's tongue with hers in the exact same way.

Buffy gasped at the contact, her hips involuntarily bucking so that she pushed right against Faith's eager hand. She didn't care that it was Faith's hand. In fact, she was rather enjoying that fact. She hadn't felt this wet . . . this excited in longer than she could remember. It felt a bit risqué and a bit . . . naughty, at least as far as the 'history of Buffy' went. No, she didn't mind that it was Faith's hand in her panties at all.

And she certainly didn't mind that she'd be coming all over it soon if Faith kept circling hard over her clit like she currently was doing.

"Oh god." Buffy moaned as Faith's mouth left hers and began to kiss a hot wet trail to her neck. The brunette made her way to Buffy's pulse point and began to lick and nibble on it again as her fingers expertly circled over and around Buffy's clit. Buffy's hips began to move in time with Faith's motions, causing Faith's center to press down against Buffy's thigh again and again.

It didn't matter that Faith was wearing panties. It didn't matter that she was coming into contact with Buffy's muscled thigh only now and again. The fact remained that her panties showed the evidence of her need, leaving a slight hint of juices on Buffy's thigh.

Buffy was intrigued. She hadn't thought that she could ever make that happen to someone. Men were different. Show them a picture of a nipple and they're ready to go. This was different. This was Faith. And Faith was dripping wet and waiting to be fucked by her.

Slowly, with much curiosity, Buffy ran her hand down Faith's side, loving the soft feel of every inch of her skin. There were no rippling muscles, or unruly body hair. It was soft, and tantalizing, and Buffy suddenly felt the need to chart every curve of Faith's body. But that could wait. Now, she wanted to make Faith feel as good as Faith was making her feel. She wanted her to come . . . she wanted them to come together.

She felt Faith's lips pause for a moment on her neck as she cautiously slipped her fingers into her panties, taking a moment to feel the liquid heat of Faith's arousal.

Faith moaned a little as Buffy's fingertips gently made contact with her hard clit. She began to kiss Buffy's neck again, trying hard not to pin Buffy's hand underneath her so that she could slip and slide all over it until she came nice and hard.

But Buffy didn't give her that chance. Her fingers already coated in Faith's juices, she cautiously slid one long finger into Faith's dripping hole. She wasn't exactly sure of herself. She wasn't stupid . . . she knew the female anatomy, and she knew what she liked herself. She just . . . wasn't sure that it was what Faith would like.

Faith, however, made no secret that she liked what Buffy was doing.

"Yeah, that's it, B." Faith whispered into the crook of Buffy's neck, closing her eyes tight as she tried her hardest not to start riding Buffy's hand like crazy and scare the girl away. She wanted the experience to be mutually satisfying.

This was, after all, about mutual satisfaction.

Buffy became more confident as Faith's gasps and moans became louder and more strained, knowing fully well that the brunette was probably as close to coming as she was herself. She had two fingers in Faith's pussy now, sliding them in and out of her tight hole as her palm was trapped quite hard against Faith's clit.

There was no more uncertainty about it now. Faith was going to come for her, and she was going to come for Faith.

Buffy began to shake, her hips thrusting hard against Faith's hand as she felt herself succumbing to her orgasm. Spurned on by the shuddering girl beneath her, Faith's gasps turned into muffled moans as she moved her lips back to Buffy's, their mouths meeting in a flurry of soft but deep kisses.

Buffy came first with Faith trailing right behind her, both girls breathing hard into one another's mouths as they recuperated from their much needed release. After a few moments, Faith was going to roll off to the side of Buffy, feeling like she couldn't hold herself up much longer. Buffy, however, pulled Faith down fully on top of her, using her free hand to brush a few stray hairs away from Faith's sweaty brow.

Faith smiled and caught Buffy's thumb between her lips, kissing it softly before leaning down and giving her a heart-stoppingly tender kiss on her lips. Buffy tried not to smile into the kiss, but she couldn't help it. The tension was gone. The frustration was gone. Her body was buzzing in a way that she didn't realize was possible, and Faith was treating her in a way that Buffy didn't know the girl was capable of.

Faith smiled too, finally breaking the kiss and resting more fully down onto Buffy.

A few moments of comfortable silence passed between the two slayers as they tried to calm down and rest a bit.

"So . . ." Faith began.

"So . . ." Buffy responded with a smile.

" . . . are you a big raging bull-dyke now?" Faith asked tongue-in- cheek, ducking her head down into the crook of Buffy's neck as the girl grabbed a spare pillow and clunked her on the back of the head with it.

"Your powers are strong, Fai, but not that strong." Buffy giggled.

They settled back down again, basking in the pleasant warmth they were currently sharing.

"Seriously though," Faith began, "are you okay? Was that . . . okay for you?"

Buffy tilted her head to the side a bit, resting her cheek against the top of Faith's head.

"I'm good. That was good. We're . . . good. Right?" She asked.

Faith chuckled. "We're five by five, B, and then some. No guilties then?"

Buffy thought about it for a moment, feeling out her emotions as best as she could.

"Hmm. Nope, no guilties. Sleepies. Hungries. Maybe even some more hornies. But definitely no guilties wandering around in the Buffy-psyche." She stated matter-of-factly.

Faith looked up at her and smiled.

"Good. How about . . . we get some sleepies," she stopped and kissed Buffy's forehead, "take care of the hungries," she kissed her nose, "and if you're still up for it later, maybe we can have another go at those hornies." She grinned before giving Buffy a soft, languid kiss that seemed to go on for hours.

Buffy broke the kiss with a smile, nodding as Faith rested her head back on her shoulder.

"I think that sounds like a plan." She said, closing her eyes and succumbing to the tiredness that quickly washed over them both.

CHAPTER SIX

Author's Notes: Thank you everyone for the feedback, and for being patient with my updates. Here's another; I hope you enjoy it, and that you'll let me know what you think if you can spare a moment or two to do so. :)

Buffy awoke to the feel of soft caresses on her stomach. She smiled and stretched her back before opening her eyes, basking in the way her body was humming as the warm sun shone through the window.

"Hey," she said with a smile, looking down at Faith who had her head rested on Buffy's upper stomach as she rubbed her fingertips over her soft skin.

"Hey back," Faith answered quietly, looking into Buffy's eyes and smiling as she continued to caress her stomach.

"Whatcha doing?" Buffy whispered, feeling completely . . . content. Carefree. Free.

"Watchin' you sleep." Faith answered with a little smile, showing no signs of embarrassment at her display of girly-ness.

"Why, am I drooling?" Buffy asked, running the back of her hand across her mouth to wipe away any offending liquid.

Faith chuckled and shook her head slightly. "Nah, you're drool- free, B."

Buffy laughed quietly, resting back down comfortably as her hand moved of its own accord to play with Faith's now unruly hair.

"Then why are you with the whole `watching of the Buffy show'? Was I snoring, or talking in my sleep, or was my stomach making some kinda weird noises? I am slightly hung over, you know. I can't be held responsible for . . ."

"Shhhhh." Faith interrupted Buffy, closing her eyes now as she continued to rest her head on Buffy's stomach. "I'm basking, B. Gimme a few minutes, kay?"

Buffy chuckled to herself, not exactly sure what was going on with Faith, but deciding to grant her the few minutes that she asked for anyhow. It was the least that she could do for her fellow slayer.

After several minutes of comfortable silence passed, Buffy finally had to find out what was going on.

"Is it time for explaining yet?" She whispered.

Faith smiled and looked up, then shimmied up so that she was laying alongside Buffy's body, her hand still able to caress Buffy's stomach.

"I dunno," Faith began, looking shy suddenly. "I guess this is just kinda new for me. Yunno, waking up with someone the morning after. Not wondering who the hell they are or why they're there. Being able to do the whole `laying together' thing. It's just . . . I'm basking."

Buffy laughed, but she stopped when she realized that Faith wasn't laughing with her.

"What . . . really? You've never woken up with someone before and done . . . the morning snuggles? Or the post-lovin' chat, even?"

"Nope." Faith shrugged. "Never really had the chance before. Didn't know most of the people. I mean . . . I don't usually make it a habit to have sex with my friends, B." Faith said with a chuckle.

Buffy grinned.

"You're forgetting Xander, you hussy." She elbowed Faith gently so the girl knew that she was just playing around.

Faith gave Buffy a small, almost wry smile.

"I said I don't have sex with my friends, B. I never mentioned yours." Faith explained and then winked to lighten the mood a bit.

Buffy tilted her head to the side.

"Xander was your friend, Faith. We all were." There was no malice in her voice. She simply wanted to know what Faith meant; where she was coming from.

"Nah," Faith began, "we were acquainted, but we weren't friends. Not really, anyways. Besides . . . friends don't do to friends what I did to you guys. I wasn't right then, yunno? I was just . . . a different person. A bit screwy, a bit wild. And, I mean . . . I'm still screwy and I'm still wild." She laughed, then shrugged. "But I'm trying to be a better person now. I wanna be friends with you guys."

Buffy smiled and turned on her side a bit more so that she could be face-to-face with Faith.

"Well, you are our friend, Faith. You came back when you didn't need to; you made things better . . . all when you didn't have to. You lent us your strength, and I think that was one of the reasons why we won. Why we're all here today. And partially why we're both naked now." She chuckled.

Faith laughed as well.

"Yeah, how `bout that." She looked into Buffy's sparkling eyes and smiled. "Thanks for . . . everything. For giving me another chance."

Buffy smiled at her, letting her hand creep over Faith's side so that she could pull her a tiny bit closer.

"And I especially thank you for this morning," Faith added. "That was wicked. I feel a hundred times better."

Buffy laughed again. "Yeah, me too. Thanks."

Both girls were laughing now, even more so after they gave each other a high-five to signal their victory from the morning.

They settled down again, just enjoying the comfortable silence. They were pressed stomach-to-stomach now, Buffy with her eyes closed as she just relaxed, and Faith trying to be as discreet as possible about watching her.

She'd never seen Buffy so peaceful. So at rest. And for reasons she couldn't comprehend yet, she couldn't take her eyes off of the other girl.

When Buffy opened her eyes and started to stretch again, rolling onto her back so that she could do so more easily, Faith was pulled from her reverie and back to the day that was ahead of them.

"So . . . what's the plan for today then, B?"

She hoped that Buffy would say that she wanted to go out again tonight, because she definitely wanted to spend more time with her. It was nice to finally have a friend in Buffy, and she wanted to keep having fun with the girl. Plus, if they went out, it was pretty much a 100% chance of getting some again. If they lucked out and found someone in the club to sex up, fine. Even if they didn't, they had their arrangement now. Friends with benefits. In the event that no one else was around, they could count on each other to satisfy their hornies.

Buffy finished her stretching and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, grabbing a tee-shirt from the floor and putting it on carelessly.

"Well, Wills said something about a meeting. We need to figure out what we want, where we're going, what we're doing. I think that she mentioned food too, so I'm guessing dinner time, which . . ." she looked over at the alarm clock, ". . . is in about two hours."

"Okay, so . . . we figure out the what, the where, the when, and then . . .?" She looked expectantly at Buffy.

Buffy grinned and looked back at Faith over her shoulder.

"And then we dance our asses off wherever they'll let us stay the latest."

Faith smirked and raised her eyebrow.

"You mean you're planning on closing some place out with me again tonight? I dunno, B. Seems like you're already banking on dancing it up and then bringing me back here and having your wicked way with me."

Buffy laughed and turned to face Faith more fully.

"And you have a problem with that?"

Faith shook her head.

"Nah B, just making sure we're on the same page." She winked. "So . . . you gonna hit the shower now?"

Buffy stood up and stretched, her tee-shirt riding up to reveal the bottom of her perky little ass.

"No, I'll probably shower before we go later. Willow doesn't mind if I stink. I kind of just feel like staying in the room and oooompfh . . ."

Before she could realize what was going on, Buffy felt herself being tugged backwards and Faith crawling up over her so they were face to face, stomach to stomach.

"So we have some free time for . . ." Faith began, wiggling her eyebrows as she cocked her head to the side.

Buffy giggled before running her fingers through the sides of Faith's hair, smiling before she pulled her down for yet another kiss.

There were no words that needed to be said.

*****

Buffy and Faith walked into the conference suite of the hotel with about two minutes to spare before the meeting. Seeing as that the hotel had a conference suite area on every floor, the manager had no problem reserving the room on their floor solely for the Scoobies to use, especially since they had the entire floor rented out.

Not all of the girls were there; the younger ones were off being `babysat' by Angel and his gang, Angel taking on a somewhat fatherly role in protecting the young girls.

The faces in the room were all familiar . . . Giles up front, Willow and Kennedy sat alongside him, Andrew and Dawn fiddling around with diagrams on a chalkboard, the older Slayers loitering around the snack table, and good ol' Xander sat reading a comic book on a two- seater sofa.

Seeing as that was the only sitting space available near Giles and the gang, Buffy and Faith made their way over.

Faith grinned and plopped down next to Xander, startling him from behind his comic book.

"Hey!" He exclaimed as Faith stole the Superman comic from his hands. "I was reading that. Gotta keep the one eye entertained or it'll pop out and run away," he joked.

"I won't let it, Xan." Buffy commented with a smile just before plopping down onto his lap. It was a move quite unlike Buffy, and it took Xander by surprise as he lurched forward with a loud grunt.

"Ughh. Have a seat why don't ya, Buff."

Buffy laughed. "Don't mind if I do. So Xander," she began, "did you enjoy yourself the other night?" Buffy asked, bringing up the night when they took Xander to the gay club with them.

Xander scoffed.

"You mean when you took me to the very large gay bar with the very large gay men and tried to turn me into a very large homosexual? Yeah, I had a blast, Buffy. Thanks for taking me." He answered sarcastically, then moved his hands to Buffy's hips and lifted her over to Faith's lap. "The two of you can stick together until you've won me back with your most sincere apologies and promise of gifts and love."

With that said, he snatched his comic book back from Faith and shifted on the couch so that his back was turned towards the two slayers.

Buffy laughed, knowing fully well that Xander was not actually mad, but more that his pride was hurt. Faith chuckled along with Buffy, glancing down at the paper cut on her thumb where Xander had yanked the comic book from.

"I guess I deserved that." Faith responded, shaking her sore thumb a little.

Buffy noted the gesture and took Faith's hand in hers, inspecting the small paper cut before giving it a small kiss.

"There. All better, ya big baby. Buffy kisses heal the soul."

"Or remove them." Xander added under his breath.

Buffy tried to act shocked but ended up joining Faith and Xander in laughing.

Willow watched the three of them from her perch across the way, taking special interest in the way Buffy handled Faith's paper cut. She and Buffy had been friends for seven years. Seven years of late night research and book reports. Not once through her hundreds of paper cuts did Buffy ever give Willow `healing kisses'.

No, she had saved the healing kisses for Angel, and for Riley. For the men that she had been involved with. Loved, at least at the time.

Willow made a mental note to keep an eye on Buffy and Faith, not because she didn't trust them, but because she didn't want to see either of them hurt. They had hurt each other in so many ways in the past and made it through just fine, but the hurt they could experience from being . . . too close . . . was something Willow wasn't sure they could handle. Especially now.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Giles cleared his throat from the front of the room, trying to get everyone's attention. Once the junior slayers sat down and settled, Giles began.

"Yes, I'd like to thank you all for coming here tonight. I understand that the new sense of freedom is overwhelming, so I commend you all for sticking to your responsibilities. Shall we begin?"

Giles received a few nods from around the room, so he decided to get started.

"Good then. It has been brought to my attention that, as lovely as this place may be, and as plentiful as the clean towels are, we cannot stay here forever. Some of the girls have families that want them back, some have no families whatsoever. Some of us are committed to the fight, and some are ready to . . . live. Or retire. I suppose it would be wise to discuss what we'd like for ourselves, and for one another."

The room was mostly quiet, everyone waiting for someone else to start speaking.

When it was obvious that no one wanted to go first, Giles spoke again.

"Perhaps it would be more conducive if I offer some choices, and you may add ideas of your own, of course. As for myself, I'd like to return to England. The Hellmouth is closed so there is no reason for me to remain in the immediate area, but the fact remains that there are other Hellmouth's, and there is always some archaic evil lurking around and waiting to destroy the world."

"Well that's a bright and shiny outlook. Did someone eat a rainbow for breakfast?" Faith asked under her breath, earning several laughs from around the room.

Giles smiled. "Thank you, Faith. However, I'm afraid that's the truth. And as much as I'd like to say that I'd enjoy a nice quiet life in a flat in London with a cuppa every night, I'm afraid that I'd be . . . completely and utterly bored."

A few giggles arose from around the room, and Giles continued.

"Thus, I've decided that I'm going to do what is familiar; what I believe I'm meant to do. The Watcher's Council needs to be rebuilt. I've been in contact with other Watchers who remain after the recent events, and they are in agreement with me. Once we're settled in our decisions, I'll be heading back to England to rebuild the Watchers Council."

"And the girls? All of the new slayers?" Buffy asked from her place on Faith's lap, back in business mode.

"That's gonna be their decision, Buff." Willow answered as she stood up from her seat. "Giles and I have talked to a handful of the girls. Some just want to go home. For those girls, Angel has agreed to give us funds to send them back. But there are quite a few girls who want to help. They have this power in them now and they hear the call of the slayer, like one of those dog whistles. Once Giles gets the Council running, we'll be able to assign the girls Watchers and send them where they're needed."

Buffy nodded. "They'll need training."

"Definitely," Willow agreed. "Preferably by someone experienced. Someone who can help them. Someone who has been in their shoes. I think that . . ." Willow hedged, clearly meaning that it should be Buffy who trained the girls.

But Buffy knew she couldn't. She interrupted Willow.

"Wills, I agree. It would be great to have someone experienced. Someone like . . . me, for example. But I think it's time I start thinking for someone beside myself at this point. Like . . . Dawn. We were forced to stay in Sunnydale because it was my job. But that job is over, and now it's time for Dawn to shine."

"I like the way you're thinking, Buffy." Dawn added with a huge smile.

"So," Buffy continued, "I can't answer yet as to what we're gonna do, but I promise that as soon as Dawn and I sit and have a sisterly chat, you all will be the first to know what our plan is."

Buffy waited for backlash; to be told that her duties didn't die in Sunnydale. However, all she received was warm smiles from all of her friends. They understood. They knew where she was coming from, and stood behind her.

All it served to do was to make her smile even more so.

The meeting went on for about an hour, everyone discussing their plans. Andrew would return to England with Giles and study to be a Watcher. After a bit of traveling, Willow and Kennedy offered to move to the other Hellmouth Giles had mentioned in Cleveland and keep things under wraps there. Giles had mentioned that maybe some of the new Slayers could find a home there as well, and Willow almost beamed at the thought of being a teacher and mentor to them.

Xander, too, decided that he wanted to see the world a bit, but that he knew he would always return to what was familiar to him: the oogy and the weird. He promised to be of use to the new Watcher Council once he had some time to himself.

Faith, for the most part, ha