When You're Done
by Nicole
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Okay, none of them are mine, but the story is.
Feedback: Please yes, should I go on? what do you think should happen? anything ...
FAITH'S POV:
So all is done, The biggest bad ever is over, The fight has been fought, And now I don’t have a clue what so ever on how to act. I mean do I now fade away in the darkness. Is my service now done. Do they hate me? Still? You know I did risk my neck for them. For all, for the good of the world and shit like that.
We are all on the bus, and we are heading for the first big town hospital. So they won’t ask so much questions. You know with all the bleeding.
I take a glimp at Buffy, she is in her seat, I think she is still recovering from the stab wound.
You know she recovers remarkably fast, even for a Slayer. Maybe that is why she is the real thing, and we all are just the backup plan. Hey don’t get me wrong you know, After the whole don’t be afraid to lead them deal, I’m not so hasty on being The one Slayer no more. I get it now finally. It’s scary and it blows big time.
It’s not just the saving the world, and the big bad 1 throughout 101. It’s the friends and the family and the colleagues and the people that look at you and expect you to be the answer to all their prayers. I think it is her strength and weakness all in one.
Sometimes I think about if it really hurt her. You know my betrayal. Now more than ever I think it did, I mean it must have been great to think that there was finally a friend ore at least a potential friend that could hold her own. Someone that knew the dark secrets to slaying, You know what I mean. She didn’t know that I never knew what is was like to be a slayer with a life, I didn’t have one, maybe because I was really thick-headed.
I look around the bus again. I see Xander, he looks so lost. He is just sitting there all alone, as far away from anybody as he can, looking out of the window. And crying.
Normally I would think a man crying was a real turn-off.
Not that it now is turning me on ore something, but I can understand. He really did love his Anya. I know, I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. Besides he never looked at me twice the whole time I was back. Not cause he was mad, and specially not the way he did before.
When Anya was in the room, he did not look at anybody but her.
Okay maybe he did, but mostly just to tick Anya of, I could tell.
Willow is just there, with her head on Kennedy’s shoulders. Now I thought that she looked really sweet with the other girl, what was her name again, Tara. But I don’t like the Kennedy chick one bit. I mean she has way too big a mouth on her, and normally I wouldn’t mind, but she even has a big mouth to me. And that is the point of no return. Now I don’t like her. Not that I can’t handle myself in an argument with her. It’s just it ticks me off that she keeps trying.
But Willow seems to be happy with it.
She deserves it, you know, after Tara.
Nobody should have gone through that.
Specially not Willow.
I get up out of my seat, and make my way to the crying Xander.
I sit myself down next to him. I see him flinch, "hey" I say to him, "I’m not doing anything here. I am not going to strangle you to death or anything. But if you want me to leave, I will."
"Do not flatter yourself Faith. "
"Why not, I saw you flinch."
"Yes Faith I am still a man. And I was crying. It goes... like automatically."
"Oh it’s that, I look down at the ground."
"Faith, really now I am on a bus filled with Slayers. And a pretty wicked witch. And I can tell you now at long last, that really was not nice you know, back then… You could have marked me for life you know. With the whole sex strangely thingy. And I can say this cause if you would hurt me, Willow over there would just burn you to a crispy toost. Wouldn’t you wills."
Red turns around for a sec, looks at me and says, "sure Xander, Crispy Chicken and French Fries on the side. She looks at me and gives me a little conspiracy laugh. And that way you could still eat her, and brag to your chums at work."
Red laughs, and Kennedy gives her a slight smack on the arm.
And then Red snuggles up to Kennedy again.
Xander starts again, "plus if you would attack me, you would attack a handicapped man, and that would just look horrible on the whole résumé of big bad black and mysterious wonder woman thing."
I see Xander smile at me, it is honest and sincere. And it even looks a bid joyfull. Like mock Faith joyfull.
"Okay Xanman, just for this once I will let you get away with it. On the count of me strangling you and all, But that is all you get."
Xander smiles at me again, it is warm, and then as in a flash, it turns to the sad face I saw before again. I look at him for a while. It must be so hard.
"You loved her didn’t you."
"Yeah" he just says.
I put my arm around him, and he just looks weird at me. I ask him, "let me be a friend to you for once?"
He just nods and let’s me hold him. He even sinks in to my embrace. And I just simply kiss his forehead, I make a big deal out of not letting it be a sexy kiss, just as I am there for you kiss. Then he starts to cry. Mumbling "I loved her so much, I wasn’t ready to get married to her, but I did love her. More than anything in the world I did."
I tell him "I know."
We just sit there until we finely make it to a hospital. There everything gets into an accelerator.
And before we know it halve of us are in hospital beds, the other few just get a few stitches.
Me and Buffy are looking on, Xander is in a chair in the hall way. And Red is passing back and forth throughout the hallway.
"Buffy" I ask, "wouldn’t you just let them look at your wound please."
Buffy doesn’t look at me, she just lifts her blouse. I look at it and it is gone, the wound that was there, the mortal wound, it is just gone.
There is a small mark, but not even the way it should look. "B" I barely bring out. "Isn’t that… what is… I don’t understand," I mumble.
"I came back wrong B whispers to me."
"What the hell do you mean B." We didn’t have time for a "bring me up to speed on life chit chat".
"Bring you up on death really" B mumbles.
"HUH" I bring out again. "B are you trippin’."
"No I am not, wait do you need to be here longer?"
"No" I tell her.
"Good then come with me, we will go look for a place to stay. Wait here for a couple of minutes."
And she is off.
After a good long wait less to my liking that I would think so, B finally comes back, "Wills, I need to go now, look for a place, you stay here and guard the fort for me?"
"Sure thing Buff," she chirps.
"Xander will you see to it that Giles does not leave before treatment. He is such a baby."
Xander nods.
"Oh and watch Dawn for me. She is okay, and stuff. But I don’t want her out all alone yet."
Xander and Red both nod in agreement.
Buffy walks up to the little chirp, and hugs her.
"Okay Dawny when I get back I will have a place for us to stay the night," she whispers into Dawn's ear, (hey slayer hearing here) "watch Xan for me will you sis." Dawn gives the slightest nod of the head. They hug, and then she is ultimately ready to go.
"Wow that circus, not every time before you go right."
Buffy gives me a look that says; do not ask.
"Right so B, what do you mean you came back wrong. What do you mean a story of death."
"I died, you know right."
"Yeah I knew, but she did breathe her last once before. It is not like you haven’t been there B." I tell her.
"This was like nothing I had been to before F."
She is silent for a while. Then gives a out a big sigh. And then a moan.
And she tells me to sit down on a bench in the park.
She holds her head for a moment. And then she exclaims all of what happened.
The dying, the being in heaven, the bringing back, the Spike thing, the not that happy to be back, Spike being able to hurt her, the almost rape thing. I never saw her pouring her heart out to me like this before. It feels kind of nice.
But it is overshadowed by the whole story.
Shit I thought I had it bad. Not that I didn’t now, but I never thought little miss muffin would gain in on me, you know. Hell if I know what to say now.
"Yeah F, there you sit with your big mouth, she must be thinking now. Fuck it."
"B, can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah sure you can F."
"Okay here goes; I still don’t think I understand what the whole getting back wrong here means. I mean it all sounds pretty much horrific, and with the Spike thing. You know the way he told the story it sounded a bit more, you know, healthy … as far as that goes of course. Because we are talking about sex and vampires. I mean, I am not ganging up on you or something. But I didn’t think it was a good idea with Angel, but Spike you know.. well OH MY GOD.." I look horrified in the direction of Buffy. She looks at me with those cute hazel eyes. "Where the F.. did that come from? Did I just babble I ask Buffy."
"Yeah F you did," she looked at me with amuse in her eyes. And I am happy to see her smile.
"So what was your question F."
"Well, if you came back wrong, then what is wrong?"
"Well I didn’t know until our last fight, you know. I think it is a little more difficult to hurt me. Cause I just felt the stab wound close up again. I could feel it Faith. It hurt and when I thought I’d die, I just got up and it closed. It was like …."
"Awesome.." I reply…
"I was heading for freaky but awesome can fit the description too I guess."
"B that is just amazing. So you're like an immortal or shit?"
No I don’t think I am, course I can be hurt. And I did get laryngitis a couple of weeks back? I never saw Spike or Angel having laryngitis."
"True" I said.
I look at B and she looks at me. "I like this" I say. "You know the way we talk."
"I have been talking you have been listening." B replies back, "but I like it too I guess." She smiles. "I saw what you did back there in the bus, for Xander. That was cool."
"Yeah if the old Faith could have seen me, she’d kick my sorry end all the way back to jail."
"I like the new Faith," I see Buffy smile at me, "she is like the old Faith. But grown up."
She puts her hand on my knee. I swallow hard.
She looks at me with her head kind of lopsided to the left. She smiles that halve smile of hers.
"I am sorry you know. For all the shit I pulled way back when."
"I know you are," she keeps that smile on her.
"I was just you know, messed up." And I feel tears right behind my eyelids. So I am going to make a run for it.
"It's okay she whispers in my ear. I know what it’s like to do stupid stuff. I invented it. Hey" she turns my head so my eyes meet hers. "You up for something stupid?"
My mind goes blank, what is she doing. What the hell's going on. I did not see no signals or nothing. I nod my head. It’s the only thing I still remember how to do.
She brings her lips to mine. And kisses me, first a soft kiss, then it gets harder. My mouth is doing something, but my head has not catched up yet.
It is hot and it is just wonderful. She is kissing me, I am kissing back. Shit this just mind-blowing. But as soon as my brain arrives at the same place my body is. It goes; Oh My God. What the fuck are we doing.
Our lips aren’t apart yet. But hers and my eyes look at each other wide. For a split second we stay that way. Then we parted. She realised it at the exact same time I did.
We jump up from the bench. And correct our clothes. Though they really don’t need no correcting.
B speaks up first. "That was not, that was definitely not, it was just, you know with the fight, and the not ending of the word, and the sharing. And the making up. You know. Not at aaallllllllll…."
She drags out the last word.
"No" I say, "it was nothing like. And we didn’t even. It's not like it's.. and.. Okay…. It was just a thing that happens… if you save the world. And with the after slaying hornies. And the making up. It's totally normal. But this is never going to happen again ever."
"So we okay now," she asks.
"Yeah" I say, "but we better get going, looking for a place and all."
"Yeah" she says.
So we walk, and walk, and walk, it is really uncomfortable between us. We look at place after place. Until she finds a hotel, not too expensive. "It will just be for the night" she says to me, "then we can look for a place again, a real one. Giles will come along. He knows what we are looking for and stuff."
I look at those soft red lips moving. They just kissed me, that is a nice idea.
No
No
No
No
No it is not a nice idea it is a horrible idea, bleeeeee ggghhh.
I do not ever never ever want to kiss her again.
Ohp, been spending too much time looking at her lips.
"Okay Faith stop that."
"Yeah I know but you know, it is weird, you know."
"Yeah" she utters to me, "it was."
"Yeah and you know before my mind gained up on the rest of me, I kind of did you know, like it. And you know.. I don’t know …. It's weird."
"Yeah it is weird isn’t it," she looks at me like she has a idea. "You know, we could do it agai..n and you know, don’t look at me like that. I don’t mean it like that. We could try again. And this time we would be totally there. And then if we don’t feel a thing, you know … good." After a while she adds "at least we would know."
"Yeah" I say after a while. That makes sense to me.
Okay so what now.
I walk up to her, and clear my throat, we put our arms around each other. I pull her to me by her waist. "Just for reinsurance." I whisper in her ear. She gives me a nod and a little laugh.
And I put my lips on hers. But it is not a dead kiss at all. There are butterflies all over the place. And it is turning me on. And her lips are soft. And I notice that my hands are roaming all over the place. And hers too. And this is deep dog shit.
We brake apart, I look at her scared, she looks at me scared.
"So" I bring out, "anything?"
"NOPE you?"
"NOPE."
"Oh thank god" she says. And we turn on our heels and leave.
I don’t need to ask her where we are going.
We are going to reserve the rooms and go back to the hospital.
Where we can not possibly do anything stupid anymore.
Ever.
Ever.
Ever.
Again.
Thanks To: Dallas for correcting the spelling.
BUFFY'S POV:
So we are back at the hospital, and I am not at ease. I mean what was I thinking to begin with. And what was I thinking to begin with it again. Faith was just beginning to open up to me. Just like me to go and mess it up. … Maybe. The thing is...I am not gay...Or Bi. I normally do not kiss girls...Ever…
And then I ask if everybody's ready to go get a good nights rest.
Willow asks me where we are going to stay. Vaguely I hear her, and I tell her we will stay at this hotel. But that we all will need to share rooms, cause it is will be less expensive.
Dawn starts yapping about the which roommates we will all have.
So I stay with …..
And … can stay with …
And then Kennedy and Willow of course.
And Xander and Andrew
And Giles alone.
And then Buffy and Faith I guess.
NOPE we both call out at the same time.
Hey I think I'm not that bad of a kisser.
But she thinks the exact same thing so I lay of, and so does she.
Everybody is looking at us weird.
"We had a fight," I hear Faith bring out.
"Yeah a fight," I say.
"Oh so there was no hiding?" I hear Xander asking bored.
"NO" I say.
"It is just, we should take some time apart for us to cool down," I reply.
And Faith agrees with me much too enthusiastically.
In the end the bunking arrangements are as followed:
Dawn with.
And …. With …..
And Giles alone.
Xander with Andrew.
And Faith with Kennedy.
And me with Willow.
Great that is much better.
I give Faith a little gleam. And she looks back in a flash.
She smiles at me. And I nod.
This is for the best, for now it is. We just need to cool down…
Yeah that's it.
A little later Will and I are both in the hotel room. I am fiddling with my nails, not really doing nothing much. Just something to keep busy.
"Sooooo?" Wills speaks up. "What's the stitch?"
I look up at her. "Nothing really wills, what do you mean?"
I am kinda hoping she will let it go.
"NO," she speaks up loudly, "Okay I'm sorry but NO. I am not with my girlfriend now because?"
I give out a sigh, "Will, it is nothing really."
"NO Buffy you are holding out on me, remember, you weren't going to do that anymore!!"
"Okay, Okay, but if I tell you, .. it's a secret right."
"Sure."
"And you will not ever talk to it about anybody."
"Sure."
"And not even Kennedy right? And you won't freak on me?"
"Sure. But Buffy, you're being annoying. Now I am bursting with curiosity."
"Okay I am going to tell you, here goes, nothing to stop me now, I will tell you the thing now."
"BUFFY?"
"I kissed Faith."
………….
"Will."
……….
"Will."
"Ah yeah I am still here, okay you did what?"
"Yeah, you heard right, but I am not going to say it again."
"Yeah, so and...Now what?"
"Yeah um, nothing, cool down start over?"
"Well Buffy, uh are you gay now?"
"NO! not that there would be anything wrong with it but...NO."
"Okay but it happened accidentally? By accident you kissed a girl? Like you were aiming for a cute guy, tripped and fell with your lips on hers?"
Course I am at a loss here. "No I just you know, wanted to thank her, and let her know things were okay."
"Yeah cool, you never thanked me that way, ever. Not that I would want that, okay wrong example I quess. You never thanked Xander that way...eeeuw, you never thanked...You never thank anbody that way okay. Just meant to say that."
Okay I am laughing now. I love seeing Willow stubble over her own words. "Yeah you are right I guess. I don't know what happened Will, I don't get it, and the idea with the 'lets kiss again, maybe there will be nothing there' was just a stupid idea in the second place. Hi, hi a word joke." I am so pleased with myself.
"WHAT, you like stumbled and fell on her lips. Regained consciousness, and did it again? Buffy that does not sound not gay to me at alllll."
"I am NOT gay. I might be BI if I was anything, and I am not even that."
"You're bi?"
"NO, but if I was something it would be that."
"Okay so lets move on then."
"Yeah thanks."
"Okay, so Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"What was it like?"
"What?"
"Kissing Faith I mean, don't look at me like that. I always ask you that question. If you kiss somebody."
"MMmmmm. Yeah." I am looking out of the window, and I probably look like I am dreamy girl here. "It was kind of nice you know."
"MMmmmhuf."
"Yeah no I mean, she knows her stuff and all. Not that I exactly liked it, but if she were a guy, I would have."
"Oh well okay, don't bite my head off for this. But, that sounds lame even to me, I really can't work with that at all."
"Sorry, that is all I can do for now."
"Okay Buffy."
"Yeah."
"If you decide to be honest with yourself, you will let me know right?"
"Sure Wills," I nod and go back to my nails, Wills turns the whole thing around and starts to talk about Kennedy, and Xander and gossip about the potenti… other slayers.
And so we chat the night away.
FAITH's POV:
Kennedy and I got to the room, and now she is trying to interrogate me.
"Kennedy just let it go," I say a little harsher than I mean to.
"Yeah but I want to know why I am spending the night with you, as opposed to Willow."
"If you don't like it take a sleeping bag and crash out in the hall way for all I care. B and me are just not the people you put in a room together all night okay?"
"Why not? And by the way, sleep there yourself."
"Because we will fight, we always do. End of story." I gather my stuff and walk out of the hotel room. "I will see you later I scream at her."
"But where are you going then?"
"That is non of your business. BYE" I storm out of there and seek out the first bar I can find, Xander is there too, I think he had the same idea I had, drink it all away.
I walk up to him, "Hey." I say. And take the stool next to him.
"What's the what?" he asks me.
"What do you mean Xander? Me and bars do well together you know that."
"Yeah I remember that not so long ago, you said you wanted to sleep like forever, remember."
"Yeah okay there is something wrong." I look at him, he smiles at me.
"Okay" he says, "don't go ballistic on me here, but I am here as your friend...talk to me. Don't strangle me, talk."
I laugh at him, "You are never going to let it go are you?"
"NEVER," he says mockingly.
I laugh again, this guy is cool, if you get to know him.
"Okay if I spill, you will not spread this further will you?"
"No of course I will not. You know me."
"It's about Buffy."
"Oh is it something that I, if I know, will have to say something about it, to lets say…. Giles?"
"NO, nothing like that Xan."
"Okay then spill."
"She kissed me."
"Like on your cheek, like a friend?"
"No more like, hot and sweaty kisses in the dark."
"Oh. Oh dear god, that picture will never leave my brain again."
I laugh again. Slap his arm.
"Hey aaauuw. Well, what did it mean?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I saw first hand what the post slaying effect can be. I know first hand, slayers then make really dumb mistakes. And you know, if you can kiss me and stuff post slaying, you can kiss her. I guess."
"She kissed me."
"Yeah but I don't believe Buffy never gets that post slaying effect. Remember she slept with Spike, that's worst than you and me."
"I don't know about that," I laugh at him again.
"Yeah HEY! you are causing me a traumatic injury. I am not worse than a dead thing. I am at least breathing."
"Yeah you're right, I am just playing with you."
"K, hey, why does that make you sit here and drink lots of alcohol?"
"I like it."
"Oh, mm, it kind of suits you."
"WHAT? Now that wasn't very nice of you."
"Well I see it like this Faith, you are kind of wild right?"
"Yeah."
"And you try not to live by too much rules right?"
"Yeah."
"Well why would that be the only rule you don't break, why would you live in a little box that people put the stamp straight on. That's not for you. You can't be wild and straight really. You're wild and uncontrollable. That's your charm."
"You know just what to say to a girl Xan, you know that don't you?"
"Yeah I knew that, I just have to look at my list of weird woman and conquests and know that."
"HEY! That's a horrible thing to say."
"I know Faith, but it is true isn't it? First mummy girl, she was really in love with me, but she did kill people on a regular basis. Cordelia, I mean she was just a human, but she hid it well. And then there was you, my first, whatever it was, can't say that was healthy. And then Anya, a 1000 year old vengeance demon, that I left at the altar. I mean, talk about irony, Anya lives for a 1000 years, and I am there just as her live ends. Oh I forgot about Miss ....., she was my teacher, wanted to mate with me, and I do mean mate, course giant praying mantises can't have sex can they?"
"Yeah that is kind of a freak show isn't it?" I smile up at him. "Maybe next time you should go for the small blond, nice girly kind of types, as opposed to the Huntress types."
"I did, she didn't want me, and she turned out to be a huntress too."
"Who?"
"Buffy."
"Buffy? You had something with Buffy?"
"Noooooh, I told you she didn't want me. She wanted Soul Boy."
"Really? You had a thing for Buff?"
"Yeah and it wasn't a thing...it was a THING."
"Oh, so you had a thing for Buffy, and I do.. aren't we a pair?"
"Yeah. Wait you have a THING for Buffy?"
"Well post slaying I do. Me and my big mouth."
"Oh yeah."
"Bartender two here, same." I point at our drinks, "lets just drink," I say to Xander.
"Yeah," he mutters.
So we drink. A couple of ours later we both stumble out of the bar, it is light already. We walk back to the hotel, holding each other up. Laughing at everybody we see. We stumble into the hotel lobby, everybody is starring at us. The whole gang is down stairs.
Giles, Andrew, Willow, Buffy, Kennedy, and the other three girls.
Xander and I look at each other, we start laughing. "Freakazoid," I barely get out.
"HI HI HI HI HI AAAHHHH." Xander says.
Buffy steps forward, "We were worried," she says.
I laugh, Xander laughs.
"It's not funny guys," she mutters. "We were looking for you two."
"Relax B, The First is beaten. We can go out and get drunk now," I wink at her.
She keeps a straight face. HA HA HA HA HA straight face.
"Buffy we can't talk to them now, they're piss drunk." Giles says.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA", both Xander and me go. "Piss drunk."
"That is a funny word," Xander says, "Piss drunk...are you drunk on piss?"
"FUCK Xander, you are a crazy mother F."
"HI HI HI HI HI HI."
"Buffy can you escort them to their rooms?" Giles asks.
"I'll walk with you," Willow says.
So now both Buffy and Willow are pushing us to the elevator.
"HAHAHAHAH," Xander laughs. "So the stuffing and the pushing is a post slayer thing?"
B and Red look annoyed.
"NO you silly silly man, it's a before slaying thing."
"HAHAHAHA a before slaying thing, wait who are they gonna slay?"
"US. For getting drunk," I mutter.
"HI HI HI HI HI, Buffy I will never get drunk again. But don't slay me now," Xander askes Buffy.
"Of course not strange man," Buffy almost laughed there.
"So you two kissed?" Xander says.
Red and B's eyes go wide and they look at me.
I grab Xander's face, "It's okay you say, Xander will not tell a soul, will you Xanaman?" I hold his face and push it around like I am talking to a 3 year old.
"Except you just told Willow," Buffy says sarcastically.
"OH," we say.
"It's nothing Wills, just a kiss on the lips.. no cheeks. HI HI HI HI HI."
"Yeah, nothing really. It was dumb. HA HA HA HA."
Then the elevator stops and I fall on my ass.
Xander looks down on me, "I thought a slayer wasn't suppose to fall. Aren't you suppose to be graceful?"
"Yeah," I say to him. "I fell on my ass gracefully. Didn't you see."
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA."
...to be continued...