The Night Before
by Living Dead Girl
Rating: R

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc own all the characters, I’m just playing around with them.
Spoilers: Set a while after season 5, 4th in the Here I Am series.
Author's Notes: Many thanks to my mate Michelle, for reading over my fics before I post them and for listening to me whine.   I’m crap at writing drunken dialogue, so I didn’t, so you’ll have to imagine any slurs etc. yourself.   “” depicts speech,   [ ] depicts thought.
Feedback: Yes please!!!

Faith was back at her motel room with a bottle of Jim Beam, a bottle of vodka and two cases of beer.   Even though she was a heavy drinker, she knew she probably wouldn’t get through it all in one night, but hell she was gonna try.   It was kinda like retail therapy, other girls bought clothes, Faith bought alcohol.   She never got that.   [Why buy clothes?   After you buy clothes you’re still upset.   After you buy alcohol at least you can get drunk!]

She emptied the vodka raw and shuddered at the taste, she liked that taste, that’s when you knew the alcohol was strong, you knew you were gonna get drunk, gonna escape.   Buffy was the hardest to escape, no matter where Faith was, what she was doing, the other slayer was always on her mind.   As the effects of the vodka were setting in, she started mulling over her earlier fight with Buffy.   [You stupid bitch!   Here one day, B gives me a chance, and I fuckin’ fuck it up!   I yell at her for showing interest!]

“Stupid!   Useless!”   She repeated.   Banging her head with her fist.   “Worthless trash!”

She thought about smashing the empty bottle and stabbing herself with it.   She’d harmed herself before when she was annoyed at herself, but now she felt intense hatred, she wanted to rip her own guts out. Instead she opened the bourbon and started to drink, hoping to numb her internal pain.

Just then she heard a knock at the door.   [Fuck!   It’s probably B.   Well who else?   I’m not exactly miss popular!]

“Faith!”   A voice came from outside.

[Shit it’s her!   Stay quiet, I could be out for all she knows.]

“I know you’re there!   I can hear your TV!”

[Crap!]

“Please Faith!”

[Not even watchin’ the damn thing.]   “Yeah, um hold on.”   [Shit, loadsa bottles, that looks good!]   She threw a bed sheet over the offending items and opened the door.

Buffy could immediately smell the drink of Faith. “Hey.”

“Hallo there B!”   Said Faith, sounding a bit too chirpy.

“Are you drunk?”   Buffy put her head through the door noticing the very lumpy sheet on the floor.

“Um well, that depends on your definition of drunk! I’m sorta more tipsy.”

The blonde raised her eyebrows.   “Uh huh!”

Faith just put her head down in shame.

[God, I don’t want to be making her feel bad all the time!]   Buffy thought about what to say next, deciding how best to get through to the other slayer.   She wanted to become someone Faith could confide in, not some judgmental figure.   “So you gonna leave me standin’ here all night, or are you gonna invite me in for a drink?”

The brunette, somewhat surprised, smiled.   “Yeah sure, come on in.”   She lifted the sheet.   “Beer or bourbon?”

“Jesus Faith!   You havin’ some people over?”

“Yeah this blonde chick, I had to stock up, I think she has a bit of a problem!”

Buffy laughed.   “Funny girl!   What do you recommend?”

Faith handed her the Jim Beam.   “You’ve got a bit of catching up to do!”

The smaller girl took a swig.   “Ugh!”   She commented, half choking.

“Just take big gulps B.   You’ll get used to it.   Chase it with some beer.”

Faith grabbed two beers and opened them, handing one to Buffy.   They both sat on the bed.

“Um, B?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry for earlier.”

“No, I’m sorry for pushing.”

“No, I shouldn’t have went off like that.   I just wasn’t really in a talkin’ mood.”

“Wanna talk about it now?”

“Not really.”

“Ok.   Promise you’ll tell me sometime?”

[Sometime…that could mean anytime!   Like in 30 years time!]   “I promise.”

Buffy smiled, unsure of whether Faith meant it.

*****

A few hours later Faith was lying on the bed with Buffy beside her sitting up against the headboard, both girls quite drunk.

“…so I assume he’s still with the army.   No civilian contact.”

“Shit, that’s harsh.   Anyone since?”

“Nah, no-one really for me.”

Faith’s heart sank.   “That’s a long time, farmboy’s that hard to get over huh?”

“Oh God no!   Gotten over and out!”   Buffy laughed at her own joke.   “It wasn’t right anyway, so I don’t give a flying fuck!”

“B!   Such language!”   She said in a sarcastic tone.

“Hey!   You always swear!”

“Yeah but you can’t!   You’re um, pure.”

“Oh pure!   Gee I’m pure!   Thanks a lot!”

“I mean it in a good way”

“Yeah right, fuck off!”

“That’s it!”   The brunette jumped off her bed and went into the bathroom coming back with a bar of soap. “I’m gonna wash your mouth out!”

“Try it slayer!”   Buffy replied in a challenging voice.

Faith couldn’t resist a challenge.   She leaped on the bed, pulling Buffy by the legs so she was flat on her back.   She then jumped up so she was sitting on the blonde’s stomach and then pinned her arms above her head.

Faith was practically lying on top of her and Buffy’s retaliation attempts were lame.   She wanted Faith to stay there.   The alcohol had heightened her emotions, and made her realise feelings she repressed.   She was attracted to Faith, she cared about her, and not just like a friend, it wasn’t just the slayer connection. [I’ve fallen for her.]   Buffy knew this wasn’t just some drunken thing, the drink just made her realise what she already knew.   [Does this mean that I’m gay?…Ok, answer that later, right now Faith is on top of me!]

The girls’ hearts were racing and their breathing was getting heavier.   The alcohol also brought the blonde’s courage up, she was tempted to make a move. But before she could ponder over whether or not Faith wanted it too, the brunette suddenly jumped off, resuming her spot on the bed beside Buffy and setting the soap on the bedside locker.

Faith composed herself, she had to get outta that situation.   [Before I do something that will get me a slap in return.]

[Hey! Why’d she jump off?   She has to like women, she’s always slagging off men.   Ok, think of something flirty to say.]   “Knew you wouldn’t stick that in my mouth!”

[Holy fuck!   She’s so naïve, unless she meant it to sound like that!   Yeah right, dream on Faith.]   “Waste of good soap…unless it wasn’t the soap you were talkin’ about B!”

“What else could I be talkin’ about F?”

[Where do I begin?…My tongue, my…]

“Well?”   Buffy said, raising an eyebrow.

Faith was stumped for a smart answer.   “Nothin’.”   She jumped off the bed, and started looking around the floor for a full bottle of beer.   She didn’t really want a drink, she just needed to move away from Buffy, she was driving Faith crazy.   [Does she know?   Is this some game, some way of paying me back, by getting’ my hopes up, then knockin’ me back?]

[God, I   can’t tell if she’s freaked out or nervous. She probably thinks I’m a big grose weirdo now.] “Faith?”   Buffy gave her best ‘I’m just here as a friend’ smile, and patted the bed, motioning to Faith to come back beside her.

The brunette gave up her search and lay down again.

Buffy decided to fish for information.   “So, how about you?   Anyone special?”

[Oh just this girl, yes GIRL!   Who probably doesn’t like me that much, maybe cos I fucked her over.   Oh and she’s straight!   And oh yeah it’s YOU!]   “You know me B.   There’s never anyone special.   Just get some and get gone.”

“Ok then…any memorable nights of passion?”

“Nah, none too memorable.”

Buffy moved closer to the other girl.   “When you got outta prison you must have been like a rabbit on heat! I mean Faith not having sex for 3 years!   How did you survive?”   She said in a mock concerned tone.

Faith laughed and narrowed her eyes.   “Who said I didn’t have sex?”

The blonde’s eyes lit up slightly.   She put on her sarcastic voice.   “Now I do mean with someone other than yourself Faith!”

The younger girl pushed Buffy playfully.   “So do I.” She replied with a grin.

Buffy had to stop herself from cheering.   “Who?   A guard?”   [Please don’t be a guard, well not a male one anyway.]

“Well…no!”

[YES!   So she does swing that way.   C’mon courage, make a move.]   “Faith?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you telling me you had a ‘bitch’?”

Both girls burst out laughing.

“Sorta…You’re not shocked?”

Buffy was feeling brave, she placed her hand on the brunette’s thigh and moved even closer.   “No.   Not shocked…more like, a little jealous.”

[Jealous!   What the fuck does she mean by that?   This is so not happening, she did not just say that!]   “Um I suppose you’re used to friends bein’, well I mean you know, with Red bein’…”   Faith was beginning to babble.   “No! I didn’t mean, not that we’re friends, I know I’m only back!”

“Yeah because friends don’t drink and chat together.” Buffy gave Faith a wink.

[Ok her hand is now caressing my leg, not just sitting there, but moving up and down!   She is definitely coming on to me.   This has to be a revenge thing, or maybe she really likes me.   Yeah right!   Revenge, it has to be revenge.]   She was staring into the blonde’s eyes now.   [Shit, one kiss with B would be worth her knockin’ me back, or whatever shit she throws at me.]

Buffy was wondering what the other girl was thinking about.   “Faith?”

The brunette snapped out of her train of thought. “Huh?”

“You ok?”

“Yeah.”   [Fuck it!]   And with that she leaned over and kissed Buffy.

...continued in Crossing Wires...