Living After: Summer Unwind
by Pat Kelly & Janine
Rating: R

Disclaimer: We make no money. All hail Joss and his army of Mutant Enemies. And oh, if you have time, FOX and UPN, too. And "Road to Nowhere" is a Talking Heads song. Bonus points if you remember the film, "Little Monsters." :-)
Spoilers: Helps to have seen the last five eps of BtVS--we'd like to thank Joss for practically turning subtext into maintext--and ANGEL's S4 finale, "Home."
Note: I'm posting this to get reaction. The story will contain two parts, the first one being, "Summer Unwind," which we'll break up into three sections. We wanted to have fun with this, and with Buffy and Faith, so we hope you enjoy. :-)

+1=2=3=4=Epilogue+

PART 1

{So here we are, right? Staring at Cali's newest, massive, friggin' pothole, all waiting to hear the answer. To hear the plan, cause hell, we followed her there and live to spin the tale...most of us. From where I'm standing, that gets her mad points. And just when I start to worry about what's gonna come next, she turns around...with this big, damn smile on her face. All right, B! Somebody's on the way back. Wonder how it feels to drop the weight? I mean, her shoulders have gotta be sore somethin' fierce.}

"Well, first I was thinking maybe I'd get this stab wound looked at--then possibly fixed. Then pizza, then 'Rip Van Winkle' through the next decade, then wake up filthy rich on a tropical..." Buffy spoke to the victorious crowd before trailing off, realizing something. "Um, oh yeah. How the hell are we supposed to get out of here?"

She saw the empty road ahead, saw the school bus full of relieved yet injured slayers, thinking of the people they lost; but for once, she didn't go to that solitary darkness. Spike and the others sacrificed themselves for the world, for the survivors; she owed it to them to take advantage of this opportunity, and to never fall into that trap again. Because she wasn't alone anymore--she and Faith were connected to hundreds of girls just like them. They shared the power, the responsibility, and their army was now immense. Words couldn't describe how great that felt.

Then there were her friends, her family, standing there triumphant and proud. They won the best prize anyone could ever ask for. The freedom to choose. Twenty-two, with their lives actually waiting. She met each of their eyes, showing her gratitude and love silently, as the moment wasn't ready to end. This had been earned. They made it; which Spike had seen to. She hoped that the kind of love she had for him, while not the kind he wanted, had been somewhat of a comfort, because that's all she had to give. He was deeply cared for in her heart--she couldn't foresee herself ever admiring another man as much as she did him.

At this point, she didn't care if she had to walk hundreds of miles to the nearest sign of civilization...beat fighting her way to it, after all.

"Was that...?" Faith suddenly had a shocked expression, which she directed solely at their leader. "Man, that was. 'Humor' finally clawin' up and out. Had to be, cause ya know, it was almost funny." She doubled over, then, clutching her stomach. "I don't...think I can...take it..." Followed by pretending to hyperventilate, very exaggeratedly.

Dawn was there for support, rubbing her back. "It's okay. Just put your head between your knees, and breathe slow. I know it's hard to accept, but I'm pretty sure she's not a robot."

{She's gonna kick our asses.}

"D'you want me to kick your ass?" The blonde narrowed her eyes with a smirk at her fellow slayer, and then looked to her sister. "Once you get a new bedroom, you're grounded in it for two weeks. Minimum. Just figured a head's up would be nice."

{Told ya.}

"Yep, definitely not a robot."

Giles spoke up, concern in his voice. "Someone should examine the wound sooner rather than later, Buffy. It needs tending to, I'm sure." The group dispersed, and he followed behind his surrogate daughter, a steadying hand on her back, until she took a seat on the rear of the bus, her legs hanging off of the edge. "How badly were you...?"

"Pretty bad; I felt it go through. But when I got the scythe in my hands, I think it gave the 'super healing' a major boost." Buffy answered, seeing Faith walk up and bend down in a little in front of her. "You volunteering to fix me?"

The brunette grinned and called, "Vi! Toss me a kit!" The girl did, and Faith got out some gauze and tape. "So what did'ya do with it?" Next she dabbed some alcohol onto a cotton swab. It was the best they had. "The scythe."

Giles went to see how Robin was doing, when he saw that Buffy was being taken care of.

She lifted up the bloody part of her top, revealing her injured side. "Left it on top of the bus. Might be hard to..." Watching as Willow floated it into her own hands, she smiled. "Or it won't be. Make sure the girls get that, Will?" The witch nodded and boarded the bus.

"It's not even deep--you faking just for the attention, or what?" The Bostonian knew the puncture had been worse, but now she stared in amazement. "That thing is so dope."

Eyebrows rose. "All right, what's with the new lingo? 'Trippin',' 'Mad,' 'Dope'...is there something you wanna tell me? You aren't gonna start calling me 'Whitey,' are you?"

Faith chuckled. "Going to prison is like steppin' into another country...bunch of different chicks with their own rules, all spewing Greek at each other cause of some seriously nasty language barriers; hit 'em, and you got yourself a brawl that makes 'Wrestling' seem wicked tame. If you hang in, though, you can bust a few down, then use whatever you think is phat." An oldie but a goodie, said just to get the eye-roll, while she rubbed the swab gently over the marred area. "Besides, 'urban girl' to the core--can't help it."

"And that analogy works because you're *such* a globetrotter." The sarcastic patient snickered, trying not to wince at the disinfecting process.

"I dunno, I'd say Sunnydale qualified as foreign territory."

Buffy considered that a moment, before agreeing completely. "Word." Laughter spilled from both slayers for a long, few seconds. They managed to pull themselves together so the covering could be applied, but not soon enough to avoid attracting the attention of Xander, who'd still been gazing at the crater. As he came to see what the funny was, his friend got a good look at the mix of relief and pain on his face. "Anya didn't...? Goddamn it."

The brunette took the empty spot beside her slight elder, and exhaled. "I knew hopin' to dodge casualties wasn't realistic from the go, but of all the people I thought we were gonna lose, gotta say, I never expected her to make the list." She reached for the pack of cigarettes in her jacket pocket. "Had enough of this 'war' shit, B. I'm done, screw it."

She lit up as Xander reached them. "What brought on the 'hahas'?" Neither of them answered; they only smiled weakly. "Is my eye-patch crooked or something? C'mon, lay it on me--always been a fan of a good 'ha.' I wouldn't, uh, actually turn down the plural right about now...love those things."

"It was..." The blonde struggled with wanting to answer him and console him, and she decided that the best way to get to the latter, past the small talk, was to briefly be lame. "It was one of those 'in the moment' ha's that don't...have the same punch to their lines the second time around." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it firmly, her eyes welling. "Xander...I'm sorry. God, I'm so sorry."

He kept his composure fairly well, though his voice sounded rawer almost immediately. "I can't; not now, Buff. Don't wanna spoil the 'victory loitering/afterglow.'" A brave smile. "Anyway, wasn't your fault; we knew what we were enlisting for. Sometimes..there's a price."

She wasn't just talking about Anya. "But that doesn't--"

"She went out all heroic, though. Knowing that...it kinda helps. Not much, but still--Godzilla-sized plus." He squeezed back with his other hand, trying to reassure her. "Later, okay? And I see your apology and raise you an 'I overshot the line before, sorry I'm an ass,' one."

The petite slayer released her grip, cleared her throat, and blinked the water out. "Okay."

"Cig?" Faith offered after she couldn't stand the silence anymore, holding her pack out, and it surprised both her and Xander when Buffy accepted, popping one in her mouth and gesturing to the lighter.

"What?" Came the defensive response to their questioning stares. "I've earned the right to slowly kill myself if I want." Her sister slayer shrugged, gave her a light, and observed as she inhaled...then coughed and wheezed. "Uh, that's, uh...can I work my way up from the candy kind?" She handed the offending object over to Xander, who chucked it to the ground and stomped on it.

{Yeah, she's got the right idea. Stay away from the hard stuff. Candy smokes are still the kick, anyhow. But if he wants to laugh, no problem.}

"Hey, Xander, you heard about that guy from Nantucket? See, the dude was into a little kink every now and then, so one day he was at a gas station, chillin' till the pump ran dry, and I guess he got bored--sorta sketchy on the details--cause the story goes that he slammed his dipstick into a bucket."

{Never fails...guaranteed crowd pleaser.}

Her audience sent smirks her way, and before she could delve into her version of the limerick (whose structure she'd already decimated), Giles walked down the aisle to the back of the bus. "There isn't enough gasoline in the tank to put us anywhere remotely, ah, more pleasant than where we are at the moment."

"We could hitch!" Xander realized, thinking his plan to be solid. "I can stretch the 'blind guy' sympathy card, and--"

"Ooh! Oh!" Andrew ran around to join them, his sudden hyperactivity and excitement about his contribution, dulling his depression. "If anyone has like, some nice, ruby slippers, they could click their heels and say, 'There's no place like Rivendale,' and then the Elven Council can send a rescue party for the rest of us." Everyone who could hear him clearly, stared at him like he was crazy. "Hey, it worked for Dorothy, and-and you know what your problem is? You don't believe these places even exist, when they so could. I mean, if we didn't believe, would Tinkerbell have lived? Huh? Huh?" He seemed vindicated by their non-replies. "That's right. I don't think so." Then he strolled off, head held high.

"Somebody's *gotta* deprogram that kid. Medicate the hell out of him, whatever." Faith pretty much condensed what they had all thought, in one form or another.

Willow was kneeling on the seat to the right of where the ex-watcher stood, having moved to listen to Andrew's speech. "None of our cell phones are getting any signal. When the Hellmouth swallowed, it swallowed everything. No towers means no service, means totally stranded. Three of the girls need a hospital, fast; there's nothing else we can do."

Dawn turned white, slowly approaching the group. "I left my cell phone in the house! You know what that means? A slimy demon's probably using all my minutes! And I had rollover! A lot, too...I'm not kidding. Mega-a lot; *s-super*-mega, even. Crap."

"We need to focus, guys." Buffy said to them, calmly. "We can't stay here, and the odds of somebody driving this way are pretty low. Word of mouth must've spread like crazy when people had their exodusing idea, so, who would?"

That's when they heard the chopper coming, and several minutes later, they could make out what looked to be a line of black vehicles moving toward them on the road.

Faith turned her head to look at the young woman, who was sheepish at the turn of events.

{She had to ask.}

*****

The helicopter landed off to the side of the road, and kept its blades spinning--the pilot stayed put. A stretch limousine and two SUVs parked on the asphalt strip a foot or so away from the crowd, and again, there was no activity. The eldest slayers looked at each other quizzically, shrugged in unison, and then without a word, cautiously began walking up to the driver's side of the limo, hair blowing around all the while.

"Ever see the X-Files?" Faith asked rhetorically, a nervous grin on her face.

"Once or twice." Buffy answered anyway, wearing the same expression. "And I was really hoping not to hafta do any mysterious, 'Meeting and Greeting' for at least a half-an-hour, because cutting the basking short? Doesn't feel like winning."

"Maybe we should tell 'em to come back tonight. It'd help their image, you know? Cause it's all about atmosphere." The brunette replied, half-serious.

"How bout you do the telling, and I do the violence?"

Faith frowned. "You get to have all the fun."

The blonde smirked. "Duh." Before Faith rapped her knuckles on the window, she put a hand on her arm, asking her to hold on. "There's something, um...I need to say. To you."

She caught the quick look of fear that flashed in those brown eyes, and knew why it was there. It was her own fault; sure, they'd fought alongside one another, had a couple, peaceful conversations, but she'd also slugged her twice and dredged up the past in front of everyone, out of desperation. Out of a need to stay in control. Nothing that happened had to do with Faith at all. In fact, the anger had taken a hike a long time ago--she'd forgiven her. Only the message that repeatedly got sent was somehow always the exact opposite.

The brunette was afraid that Buffy was going to say she was no longer useful, that she'd played her part, and now the murderer would be disposed of quietly at the first, available opportunity--no. She had proven herself here, in LA, and had shown incredible dedication and restraint, staying behind bars for nearly three years. The past was the past; they were different people. Not only was it nice to have her back, it was also a relief. What better way was there to start off the new slate, then by giving their friendship another chance?

They deserved it...after they dealt with this latest puzzle.

"If this is the First's backup plan...and a group of guys with Uzi's jump out," Buffy figured there wasn't time to waste on avoiding the point, "I just want you to know...that I appreciate you looking out for me. You've been doing it since you got here, and it means a lot, really." She paused, while fear gave way to shock. "I'm sorry, too. Sorry for being a jerk before, and for the face punching, which I'm gonna try not to do anymore. Far as I'm concerned, we're good; I...I want us to be." She took a breath. "Ready?"

Faith broke out into a wide grin, and you could see her physically relax. Once they got out of here, fun was going to be had--there were four years to make up. "Always." Then the car window slid down, and the slayers each let loose a surprised scream, jumping back about a foot. So much for the tough, unflappable world saviors. "Dude, the wind so knocked me back...did you see that? And I think I tripped...road must be messed up."

Buffy nodded, hoping to cover her embarrassment. "They should definitely repave. And breezes are dangerous; never underestimate a breeze."

"Um, excuse me, Miss Summers?" The limo driver got their attention, holding a cell phone in his outstretched hand. "Mr. Angel would like to speak with you."

Once more, the slayers exchanged stupefied looks with each other, and then the shorter addressed the speaker. "Who are you, how is Angel on the phone--because our phones are just fancy paperweights--and when did that become his last name?"

"He start pimpin' on the side?" Faith queried, her interest piqued. "Because that'd be a sweet pimp name."

"Faith, you're not helping." Though the blonde did agree with her, she had to keep up a front.

The driver answered in a business-like manner. "Mr. Angel is head of the 'Angel Investigations Detective Agency,' as well as my employer. His business is partially funded by the law firm of 'Wolfram and Hart,' and the cellular technology they've developed is far less limited than what's currently sold on the market." He saw the unsettled, somewhat harder expression on the brunette's face, and decided to stop talking before his professional demeanor devolved into endless stuttering. "But please, Miss...he's waiting."

Buffy took the phone then, handling it like something that might be poisonous; she risked it in the hope that explanations would come from the other end. "Angel?" She smiled and exhaled with relief upon hearing his voice. "So what's the deal?...A little, but I should've expected. You never did listen to me...Yes, I'm glad you butted in. Also? Impressed...I can see that. Since when do you have 'teams' to place anywhere?" She started walking and talking.

That left Faith somewhat alone with the driver. She opened the door and leaned against the inside of it, laying her hand across the top edge. Eyeing him, she was happy with the fact that he was visibly shaking. "All right--tell me the sitch. Do your people have somethin' on him? They stick his soul in another jar? Cause I was planning some major downtime, and I can't be pulling his ass from the fire every other week. That's not fair, yeah?" She kicked her leg out and hit the leather seat; its occupant's knee-jerk reaction was to jerk his knee into the steering wheel. "Hey, I'm askin' questions, here. Better like the answers."

Wincing and holding his injured area, he tried to comply. "I'm...uh...I'm only the-the driver. I don't really know...any-anything about--"

She scowled, and just before she could get up into his face, the blonde was back, directing her to turn around by pressing on her shoulder. Her victim immediately shut the door, locked it, and rolled up the window. "I was just gonna threaten to get rough with him, B."

"I know, and if we had time I'd let you play the bad cop all you wanted, but we have to move, because I don't wanna be on the news." Buffy explained, still on the line with Angel. "Angel says it's all legit and official, by the way." Faith opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off. "He promises he didn't sell out...not exactly. Anyway, he'll explain later, because these guys are here to take us to his place, where we're gonna crash for a while." She paused as she got an understanding nod. "The helicopter has three stretchers on it, so whoever needs it most has a ride to the nearest hospital, express; the limo's for us and the gang, and the SUVs are for the girls. Can you help get everybody situated?"

"Already doing it."

"That was fast."

"S'how I work."

The Californian smiled as her partner went to fill in the exhausted troops, then her ex began speaking to her again. "What?...Nope, Faith and I are meshing...We're *fine*; swell as always." She smirked when the Bostonian turned around to give her a special finger, smiling sweetly. "Hang on a sec." Putting the phone in her pocket for a moment, she showed two fingers to Faith's back.

The brunette turned again in the middle of her instructions, to commend the blonde. "You went for the double? Daring...gotta respect that. Didn't figure you as the type, though; no wonder you like your meat 62.3." Wink. "Say, how'd the Big Guy react to--?"

"How do you know he's big?" Buffy posed, half-joking and accusing. That was over fast, however, as what she'd said registered. Buffy cupped her hands over her mouth, and her eyes went wide. "Oh shit." She scrambled to retrieve the phone. "You didn't hear that, did you?...Nothing, it was nothing...We were just, uh, doing flips. It's a thing. Way better than fighting to the death. I think we're growing. Um, I gotta go."

Faith had the decency to wait until the phone was off to crack up, and there was a second finger exchange as the petite woman went to speak to the chopper pilot.

"Wow," Kennedy commented, "that was a whole lot of fucking."

Giles and Willow both turned red, while Dawn supported her friend. "Well it was."

*****

"Yo, Woodpecker...time to fly. You up for it?" Faith asked with a grin as she hopped up the three steps onto the school bus.

Robin was partially sitting up; he was managing, but he still needed medical attention. No one could tell for sure how bad off he was. "Well...that was clever. Filled with layered...embarrassing references to my manhood and pride as a guy, but clever."

She shrugged. "I'm deep."

"I've noticed." He said, his eyebrows scrunching together. "But I thought all the room was taken."

"Rona gave up her spot; she wants to tough it out." The brunette told him, smirking. "Girl's the real deal now--being stubborn's part of the package. Plus, she's got that healing bonus, yours skipped a generation. Too bad it wasn't passed down."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Did Buffy say--?"

"You think she'd spill that?" She shook her head, smiling a little sympathetically. "Just got a vibe. Since the power's been cut loose, it's like...isolation's over, and we all linked up. Past, present and future; it's pretty cool." Vi came up behind her as the ex-principal absorbed this information. "Stretcher's on the ground outside. We're gonna lift you off, get you loaded."

"Could you...give us a minute?" He requested of the younger girl, who nodded.

"I'll just, um...go wait, somewhere...away, but not too far away, cause..." Vi rambled, before silencing herself. "Sorry." She exited back down the steps, blushing.

Once she was gone, Faith sighed. "Look, Robin, whatever you're gonna--"

"After they discharge me, I'm probably going straight home. To New York. There's...someone I haven't gotten around to visiting for a while, and it's about time I did." They both knew that someone was his mother. "Then I was thinking I could get a real life."

"Oh." She wasn't expecting that.

"And you're welcome to come with me...if you want; I'd like the company." He smiled at her, hopeful but realistic. "I know the offer doesn't seem too attractive right now, but if you look past the bloody wounds and bruises..."

Okay, *this* she had expected, and after hesitating a second, she was direct. "You're a decent guy and all, but I told you, me and relationships don't mix. Kinda like B that way." Apparently, given his look, she was the only one who found that amusing. "I'm not worth the risk, all right?"

"You don't give yourself a lot of credit, do you, Faith?"

"Might not, but this ain't the time or the place to be havin' this conversation."

"Well, having it later isn't really an option, because long distance phone calls aren't exactly personal, so just try to bare with me." He continued when she kneeled down--it was hard to blow off somebody who took one for the team. "I've been single most of my life; avenging a loved one's death is pretty much all-consuming--long hours, little sleep. I have no relationship skills, either. All I'm sure of, is that you're a person I'd enjoy getting to know, even if it's difficult sometimes. You're fun, dedicated, enthusiastic..." She laughed lightly. "In my opinion, you *are* worth it, and I'd prefer not to leave without you...doesn't that say something?"

"Yeah, that you're a 'closet-case.'" Faith deadpanned, and before he could get his glare on, she was serious again. "You probably stick by all that, and I love hearing it, don't get me wrong...been a long time since I met a guy like you. Truth is, though, you could keep talkin' till you're so blue, it scares the black off ya; I'm just not ready to plunge in." She turned her head towards the door for a second, seeing everyone rushing about, and then focused back on him. "I want another shot with those people; I wanna hang with Buffy too, cause somethin' tells me it's gonna be a blast and a half. Gotta stay and find out."

As much as Robin respected Buffy, he still didn't understand why people grew so attached to her; though his view of her was skewed, because he resented the 'Slayer' attitude she carried, which wasn't entirely her doing. The sooner he was able to make peace with his mother, the better. "Does she realize how much you care about her?"

Geez, did he have her pegged or what? "It's nothing new, so yeah, if I had to guess. I'm lucky, one of these days it'll be mutual."

"I've watched enough TV to see that you're trying to tell me you just wanna be friends, which I can graciously accept." He smiled, however, there was a twinge of disappointment in his voice.

"Sorry." She offered in lame consolation.

"For what? Isn't anything you can help." He absolved her of any guilt. "If the opportunity ever comes, you think you'll be ready to plunge, then?"

"I dunno; we both got stuff goin' on that'd make a shrink wicked rich. Just have to work through it, see where we land." The brunette said with frankness. "Best way to do that is step back and take a breather, cause you know, that 'being alone,' slayer thing isn't bullshit. You can't explain it, but it's there. Puts you on a different level than everybody else; hurts when ya don't fit. But then you cross paths with the only other girl on the whole friggin' planet who gets the life, and bam--no other feeling like it." She smiled a grateful smile. "The rest of 'em never hafta go through that, but we did. And what can I say? We click. S'why when I played for the opposition, we couldn't go the extra mile."

Only now did he grasp the fact that this was barely scratching the surface of their relationship. Just by looking in her eyes he could see that, and it left him stunned. "You weren't kidding about the history."

"'Complex' doesn't even begin to cover it." Buffy said, having been standing on the steps for the last minute or so. "But that's what makes us so interesting."

Faith grinned at a shocked Robin, who hadn't been aware of the blonde's presence until now. "Says it all right there."

"Vi got relieved; I'm 'Chauffer Number 2.' I promise, if there's any dropping, it'll be Faith's fault." Buffy quipped, grinning faux-innocently.

"Won't matter--I'll just pin it on her." The younger slayer retorted. "Now can we get the hell off the big, yellow bus?"

"Good luck, take care of yourself." He whispered to her, before they picked him up.

"Think I'll manage...you do the same." She smiled reassuringly at him. "And thanks." The next part was spoken louder. "You gotta keep in touch, you know; can't forget about us."

"I'll surprise you, don't worry." They shared the inside joke, and then both slayers got him onto the stretcher and into the helicopter. Over the noise of the whirring blades, he yelled to them, asking that they pass on his goodbyes to the group.

"Watch your ass back home! Be plenty of femmes lookin' to get a bite of that apple!" The pair backed away from the flying machine, and watched as it took off. When it was only a speck in the sky, she turned to her companion. "I didn't know Willow could C-P a chopper." The redhead had been sitting in the seat beside the pilot's.

Buffy smirked, responding as they headed to the limo. "She's always wanted to ride in one. Except her official excuse was that she should go with them because, 'I'm a witch, and I've been told we're very handy to have around. Just in case.'" She held open the rear door for Faith when they reached the vehicle. "Dawn and Andrew wanted to go with the girls, Giles and Xander are up front. Giles thought we could use the space, and Xander didn't mind, cause Angel suddenly owes him, so he's gonna make the driver, 'Limo' him all over LA."

Laughing, Faith slid in, claiming the large, lengthy, leather seat on the left, while Buffy claimed the right, shutting the door. She was definitely catching some Z's on this. Smacking the power window behind her head, she signaled that it was time to go. "He shoulda waited on us."

"He would have if you hadn't freaked him." The petite slayer pointed out, as they started moving.

"Then let him cry me a river." The Bostonian snorted unaffectedly, lying down and stretching out.

The Californian followed Faith's example, finding it to be extremely comfortable. "Know what I've been thinking about?" Faith looked at her from the other seat. "Because we changed the rules, the 'Slayer' reason for us not getting along sorta doesn't hold up anymore."

"What's that mean?"

"I was hoping we could, uh, maybe start over, only do a better job this time. With the 'friends' part." She elaborated, slowly. "After we get some sleep." She heard no acknowledgement, and was too nervous to look over at Faith, but she still ventured out farther onto the limb. "Cause I missed you."

The brunette smiled hugely, up at the ceiling. "Missed you, too."

A pleasant silence settled over them for a few minutes, until the blonde, who was also smiling, ended it. "Oh...Faith?"

"Yeah?"

"I stopped being the 'One and Only' years ago."

Any lingering tension lifted from them both with that statement, and once Faith heeded her fellow passenger's warnings, agreeing not to sing--badly or at all--'Road to Nowhere' ever again, it was a peaceful, restful trip all the way to Los Angeles.

PART 2

Disclaimer: We make no money. All hail Joss and his army of Mutant Enemies. And oh, if you have time, FOX and UPN, too. The song is "What Happened Yesterday," by Neil Young, off his album, "Mirror Ball."
Note: We hope you enjoy. :-)

A little past 12:30 in the morning, Buffy woke up in what she assumed was one of the rooms inside Angel's hotel. She hadn't actually been to the Hyperion before, but since the décor bore an uncanny resemblance to a room that would belong in a hotel, she didn't think she was making too big of a leap. How she got here she wasn't sure, but she was grateful to whoever had let her remain asleep. Her body was grateful, too--it felt rejuvenated. Still, that meant somebody had to carry her in, and she blushed at the thought.

Sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stretched and yawned. Everyone else had said they were going to find places to sleep the minute they arrived, but from the sound of things they'd all woken up several hours ago; she could hear Andrew's voice traveling through the hall, and Faith's more agitated one, though it wasn't because the two were in the same room together. Which was definitely a good thing. Curious now, she stood and walked into the hall, heading towards the nearest person.

Andrew was surrounded by a swarm of giggling, teenage girls excitedly giving him a makeover. Peeking into the room, she couldn't see him because her view was blocked, so she just listened. "This moisturizer is really soft. And I kinda like the 'Plum Passion' lipstick...it calls attention to my eyes. Don't you think I have the best eyes? They so express the deep pain and love that's in my bright, yet tortured soul. Can I have more blush?"

The slayer hurried down the hallway, muffling her laughter. It was amazing that he was ever capable of anything villainous. Her feet came to halt after the next few doors, and something told her it was Angel's room. There were no obvious indicators, though; she only got that feeling...like she always did where he was concerned. But he wasn't in it.

Faith, a cocky, black man, a skinny brunette, and Kennedy were crowded around a television and a PlayStation 2, seemingly engrossed. She guessed that the new people were Fred and Gunn, from what Angel told her last year. Her questions about when he'd developed a video game habit passed when Faith exclaimed, "What the fuck, Chuck? You can't just perch up there and snipe!"

"There ain't no rules; strongest always survive, girl. You just can't handle that I got the win locked, and I know you don't want me toastin' your wheels again, cause I *own* this game. Proof's all in the record." Gunn taunted mercilessly, while cracking his knuckles. "Bet that chowdah soup you probably used to chug gallons of is finally catching up wit you, slowin' you down."

"Uh, Charles? I could be wrong--gosh knows it wouldn't be the first time I was--but...I'm pretty positive she can pound you into next Thursday; then she'll create a fold in our temporal reality, drag you back here to the past, which I guess is technically the present, and do it all over." Fred warned her ex, laughing at her own 'theoretical humor.' "Just sayin'."

He didn't know when to heed. "And I'm just sayin' maybe she oughta hang it up, work in some practice 'fore she tries tangling with the big dog. Can I help it if I have the finesse?"

Scowling, Faith swore she would *not* be beaten on her territory. She used to rule Twisted Metal 2, and he was getting his smug ass dethroned. "Whatever, man, cause if I wasn't reform..." She enjoyed letting that hang there for a moment. "I'm all outta white flags--hit the damn button."

The level of concentration that shone on her face was astonishing; it was the kind of focus one usually reserved for slaying, filtering out every other distraction. Because of this, Buffy momentarily debated silently entering the room and spooking the crap out of her slightly younger friend, but a decision couldn't be reached as Willow came up behind her at that crucial moment, holding a thin, tall, pink candle. Turning around, she knew exactly what it was for.

"Goodie, you're awake. Cause I didn't wanna get you up and have you be cranky." The redhead grinned, as the blonde put an arm across her shoulders. "We're ready, I think." Her friend's nervous, questioning expression jogged her memory, then. "Oh! The doctor at the hospital said only happy things."

The arm slipped down so hands could grasp as Willow led to the stairs, and they descended. On the way here, before she succumbed to extreme tiredness, Buffy, Willow, Giles and Xander agreed--thanks to a particular witch's telepathic abilities--that they had to do this as soon as possible, but they couldn't do it on *the* day. Not when they were all running on fumes...would've been too much. Hopefully, this small gesture would be enough.

In the lobby there was a card table set up, which Wesley was shuffling at. Angel and a green-skinned demon wearing a bright, lavender suit, sat around it with him, but upon seeing her, all the men stood. She and Willow walked over, and Buffy released their digits to give her ex a strong, warm hug. They smiled at each other as it finished.

"You look...refreshed." He commented, pleased with his observation, and with a single glance, he gave her his condolences about Spike. Words would've killed his good intentions.

"I am." She assured him, her tiny smile communicating that she received them. "Comfy place you got here; not lacking with the space, either. Thanks for taking us in."

"Was the least I could do." He saw the slayer's eyes repeatedly going back to the strange demon she didn't know. "Buffy, this is Lorne...the anagogic demon I told you about. He works here full time now, and he's a good friend."

"Who cares if it's not physically possible? You're gonna make me blush, Angelcakes! Can't fool me with that 'Dark Hero' image anymore, ya big faker." Lorne told him, much to the vampire's embarrassment. "After today, don't you dare try to sell it, because I won't buy it. To me, it's gone forever." Turning to their petite guest, he extended his hand. "Well, aren't you a peach cobbler?" They shook. "Nice to finally meet you, sweetie."

"You too." It was odd, like his voice could not only put her at ease, but would also turn her frown upside down if need be. She looked to the ex-watcher, then. "Hey, Wes."

"It's good to see you, Buffy." Wesley acknowledged her with a genuine smile, something he hadn't had the ability to produce for a while. "When we heard the news that you all were coming, we were...very relieved." He spoke with a weariness that told her she had lots to be filled in on. "Though given how Faith described the battle to us, I'd say 'extremely' is more fitting an adjective. I wish I could've been there, honestly."

"No you don't." The survivors echoed, and then Buffy asked the obvious question, "Where's Cordy?"

By the trio of uncomfortable, achingly pained expressions, she knew she'd said the wrong thing, and it was Angel who appeared the worst off. "Tomorrow I'm gonna show you the new office, and I'll, uh...take you to see her." He paused. "You should hurry; it's supposed to rain."

She nodded and went to the doors that led out into the courtyard with Willow, then turned back to face her host. "You know, they're really getting mileage out of that game upstairs. It's scary."

Once the pair left. Angel concernedly asked his employees and closest of friends, "You don't think they'll break the system, do you?"

*****

Outside in the hotel's entry courtyard/garden, Giles, Dawn and Xander were already waiting. Moving off of the raised, balcony area, Buffy sat beside the young brunette on the edge of the unusable fountain, while Willow placed the candle on the ground, among a mix of dozens of red, white, and peach-colored roses. Behind them, propped up against the wooden bench, her sister's delicately written, cursive handiwork could be seen on a large piece of poster board, done in violet and blue magic marker. The moonlight supplied a perfect view of it, even through the gathering clouds.

"Seems as though the storm is holding off." Giles commented, as grateful as the rest of his family for that.

"I've said this for years--storms get a bad rap. Nobody cares when they're considerate; the focus always has to come back to property damage. Which is, okay, *great* if you're in construction, but that doesn't mean I support horribly one-sided portrayals...won't ever." Xander chimed in, twirling the stem of a red rose between his thumb and finger, pondering. "Unless they're about vampires."

Buffy smirked. "Angel being the exception."

"Cause you'd have nowhere to go if it wasn't for him." Willow added, going to join the Summers' girls on the fountain.

"Hey, me and Angel are close pals. It's just that for us, 'speaking'--and most of your basic hand gestures--aren't necessities." Xander told his doubting friends. "Our manly bond is so rock-solid, that we don't hafta do the obvious thing."

"Like," Dawn was smirking now, "actually showing it in front of people?"

"Exactly. By deciding to keep the communication very low-key, both time, and valuable energy, are saved." He went on, sounding as if he'd just concluded a presentation. "Sometimes I forget I even like the guy."

"I'm amazed you were able to hide your true feelings for this long, Xander." Giles said, dryly sarcastic. "Clearly none of us had the slightest clue...so bravo."

"Did Giles just pull a 'gay' joke? On me?" Stupefied, the younger man frantically looked to anyone for an answer.

"It's perfect." The slayer indicated the poster board to her sibling, after rolling her eyes at the tangent that had wandered into the land of crazy talk.

"Really?" The teen questioned, brightening a little. "I think it's kinda dorky. I wanted to do more, but..." Sighing with frustration, she picked up a yellow rose that was lying next to her. "Oh, we, uh...we got this for Spike. I thought you might wanna...you know, put it with the others."

"Thanks." Buffy accepted the rose with a smile. "And it isn't dorky--far from. The whole point is just to let them know how much they meant to us...not to be huge and flashy." She gave her honest opinion as Dawn's head came to rest on her shoulder. "I think the message is appreciated."

The poster board started off with the heading, 'We Love You and Miss You.' Then it went on to list names down two columns in the middle: 'Mom,' 'Miss Calendar,' 'Anya,' 'Tara,' 'Spike,' 'Kendra,' 'Jesse,' 'Amanda'...even Cassie and the Potentials who lost their lives. Andrew had asked her to put Jonathan's name there as well, so she did. He, Faith, Kennedy and everyone would come to pay their respects, just not tonight. They thought it should be 'Scoobies Only' the first time.

There was a photograph on either side of the columns of names. On the left was a group shot taken at Christmas a couple years ago that included Joyce, Tara, and Anya. The right photo was of Giles and Jenny, after she'd forced him to stand in front of a monster truck. At the time it had bordered on being the most vexing night of the ex-watcher's life, and now it was a night he recalled often, and fondly. That was what they were all doing--reflecting on pleasant memories and giving a small, deserved tribute.

The slayer nodded at the witch while gently running her fingers along her sister's brunette locks. "Go ahead, Will."

With a thought and a tiny flick of the wrist, Willow magickally lit the candle; the orange-blue flame seemed to contentedly sway and bob on the wick. Xander was the first to go stand in front of their modest memorial, and as he squatted down he placed the rose for Anya among the others, her face prominent in his mind. "Hey, Ahn. How's it going up there?" He smiled and the tears that wanted to spill in Sunnydale finally did. It felt like a long time before he spoke again. "Muscle your way up the ladder yet? Well, guess we'll get a clue if a plague starts wiping out the long-eared and furry, huh?" He joked lightly. Anya would have Heaven economizing and efficient in record time. "I like how I turned out. Even have a little pride, which you get all the credit for, because my lazy ass needed a jumpstart--just wanted ya to know that. Swear I'll try to be a model for men everywhere." He felt Buffy's hand on his shoulder. "Love you, honey. Wish you were still here."

Pulling Xander in for a comforting embrace, Buffy let Willow have him a few seconds later, as she knelt down with her sister. Dawn's voice was quiet. "Wow, uh, hi, you guys." She didn't know what to say. "Oh, Amanda, you remember that time in Mr. Johnson's class when he said that the people in Ethiopia were starving and Catie Mackenzie thought it was because Ethiopia was like some poor, Indie band without a label? And during the sleepover when Molly dared Dani to...?" Given the way her sister was staring, she had a feeling going further would be the wrong thing. "N-never mind. Just tell everyone we'll miss them, that they were amazingly brave, and that Buffy promises never to make another speech again." She ignored her sister's gasp. "Mommy? If Spike's with you, watch out for him, okay? He did buttloads, um, I mean tons, for us. Of good things. Including helping Buffy while we were kinda being stupid, so...please?" Smile. "And Anya? You were pretty crazy...but I shoulda realized sooner that you were pretty awesome, too. We love you guys."

The blonde held the brunette close as they cried together. "Can't top that, and I won't try." Then she set her rose down. "But we survived this long, we won, because you all were a part of our lives and got us here. So if there was a grand plan, you were definitely the important pieces...I know it in my heart. Thank you." Her expression darkened. "Though it'd be nice if the whole concept of 'dying' didn't have to exist, cause then I wouldn't have to do this." She took a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry."

After Buffy and Dawn moved away to allow Giles his turn to speak or whatever he chose to do, their father figure stood viewing the memorial solemnly, waiting for rehearsed words that wouldn't come. He thought of Jenny, Joyce, and Anya above all, as he knew them best out of those listed. Though he did offer his sincerest apologizes to Spike, because if not for him, they wouldn't be here. He knew he'd grossly misjudged the vampire, and he also hadn't trusted Buffy's judgment, her ability to keep a level head--he couldn't help but feel partly responsible for her near unraveling close to the end.

There were repairs to be done, because he never wanted a scene such as the devastating one at the house, to ever happen again. Clearing his throat, he directed his attention back to the present.

Having made his peace with two of the women years ago, and not wishing to reopen those particular wounds, the Englishman thought on his once-employee, and smiled at the memory of her. She was quite an enigma, really. For someone who'd committed over a millennium's worth of horrible acts, she had an incredible innocence about her. If she were crass, or rude, or insulting, one couldn't stay mad at her, because very rarely did she realize when she'd crossed a social line. And most often, her outbursts came from a place of curiosity, as well as truth. It was these traits that made her so endearing.

Whether Anya knew of it consciously or not, she was always trying to learn. Learn about the species she'd harmed for so long. Perhaps that was her way of apologizing--understanding the complexities of people makes it harder to cause them pain. Guilt and self-punishment were unavoidable side effects, and though she didn't show outward signs, there were times when the shop was empty, when she was idly counting money at the register, that he could tell what went on behind her eyes. What did Anya have to show for her efforts? To him, she became more of a human being in four years, than most do in a lifetime.

She died as one, helping to save them all. With words failing him, a song entered his head then, which he uttered softly, almost to himself: "Can't forget...what happened yesterday...Though my friends say, don't look back...I can feel it, coming through me...Like an echo...Like a photograph..." He removed his glasses to wipe his watering eyes as he finished, and said in a choked voice, "Goodbye."

Soon he was at the center of a group bear hug, their eyes as red as his. The start of the rain signaled that was time to head inside, thankfully, because his circulation could return. Gentle dripping became a steady downpour within seconds, and Dawn and Xander were the first to rush inside. Willow just knelt by the flowers, ignoring the rain, telling them she'd be in a while--she hadn't taken her turn yet. Buffy and Giles didn't protest; they found cover under the balcony, and watched in awe as the rain fell around the redhead.

"Neat." Buffy commented for both of them, while they continued to look on. They couldn't hear, though. Whatever was shielding the witch was soundproof as well as waterproof, or they would've noticed the greeting of, 'Hi, Baby.'

Giles broke himself out of his mournful state when his thoughts drifted to the future. He'd tried to plan a course of action all day, but had hit a snag that he truly could've used Anya's help with. "Buffy, I, uh. I've been trying to think of ways to get in touch with and organize these new slayers, wherever they may be. They need training, they need to be properly stationed in the more...demon-intensive areas...in short, I'd like to form a new Council. But, hopefully it wouldn't be as--"

"Asinine as the original?" The slayer quipped, and then congratulated. "Finally used 'asinine' in a sentence...yay me." She paused. "All right, half a sentence."

"I'm very proud." He said, sardonically, and then refocused. "Now, there's a slight problem. While I was able to wrest a considerable sum of money from the Council's accounts before leaving England, it won't do much good in the long term, so I'm currently lacking both funds and resources. I do have quite a few contacts, but none, I doubt, that would want to join in on...such a risky undertaking." He sighed. "The Council's capital came from persons and demons older than I, with similar, outdated ideas. I'd have very little incentive to offer."

"That's not true. You're...a go-getter. That's gotta count for something." She tried to weakly lift his spirits, while considering the options. "So you need a backer. How about the government? They're over the whole, 'Science Wow' phase, big on extermination. Might be interested. I could give Riley a call at...well, I don't think it's *really* a flower shop, but maybe it's a side thing. For pocket money. Anyway, he might know the right people to ask. And they'll probably make sure it's all hushed."

"It's worth a try." He responded, feeling somewhat better about things. "In the meantime, perhaps Willow can...ah, post a notice to the Internet asking for--"

"Uh uh. Bad idea." Buffy interrupted him, derailing that idea fast. "You don't say, 'Looking for young, limber girls with special talents,' on the Internet. Unless you're desperate, disturbingly perverted, have a potbelly, and don't mind doing jail time. Age not a factor."

Giles coughed. "I suppose that will have to wait, then."

"Better idea." Could he tell that she really didn't want to talk shop as they headed inside? She wanted far away from shop. "Uh, Giles? You were joking about Cleveland, right?"

He looked hurt. "Yes, of course it was a joke. I figured it was obvious." Who would put a Hellmouth there?

"Sorry." She apologized, trying to hold back a laugh. "But you're rarely funny. Maybe if you worked on it..."

Now he stared at her in disbelief. "What do you mean? I've been funny on a number of occasions; it isn't my fault if you didn't appreciate them."

"No...no, you're right. You have." She conceded quickly, and innocently posed, "Were, um, any of those occasions intentional?"

"What about with Xander, out-outside just now, and-and when I--?" The poor man was flustered; he wanted to prove that he was humorous.

"Oh, come on. Anybody can be sarcastic and quippy. Besides, Xander's an easy target." She told him, pretending to be unimpressed. "I dunno, maybe I just don't get British humor. Maybe, as an American, it's a tough barrier for me to crack. From this side of the ocean, it looks like the only thing you guys laugh at over there, are naked people. How do I know?"

His face was red with embarrassment. "You can't be serious."

Dropping the charade, she smiled at him. "Nope. I'm not." Standing on the tips of her toes, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Don't ever change, Giles." Then she went upstairs.

As he smiled, Lorne walked over, bringing a halt to the poker game, with glass in hand. "Sea Breeze?"

*****

Some twenty minutes later, Willow joined Gunn, Fred, and the three slayers in Angel's room, where the video game tournament was still going strong, the title still not having switched hands. Talking in the courtyard to a hopefully listening Tara, she could've sworn that she felt the other witch's calming presence nearby (she hadn't since her death), that the air was filled with energy...but it had to be just her imagination. Still, she came away unsure, doubtful, which wasn't helping. Even as one-sided as the conversation had been, she remained connected and amazingly open to her former lover, discussing everything.

The events of the past year, how much she missed her, how much she loved her. When Kennedy was the topic, she admitted that though she cared for the girl and was grateful, it wasn't the same as what they had. Nothing ever would be, but the way Kennedy looked at her, with total adoration, was something she hadn't been able to match yet. With Tara it wasn't a question, it was just there, but Kennedy wasn't Tara. Being so preoccupied with the First, it hadn't concerned her before; however, their situation had changed.

Time--she only had to give it time. She could concentrate on them now. Convincing herself of that for the moment, she put on a smile that was mostly genuine and sat on the arm of her girlfriend's chair, offering silent support as the virtual battle with Gunn raged on.

Faith turned to look at her from the floor, where she lay on her stomach next to Buffy, and grabbed a beer out of the case that sat on her other side. "Might as well catch up."

Willow accepted the alcoholic beverage just as Buffy and Fred frantically screamed, "Turn, quick! He's gonna fire!" That's when Kennedy's chosen vehicle, Warthog, blew into pieces.

"Jackass." The new slayer grumbled, knowing it wouldn't affect him. He'd heard worse from Faith throughout the night. So she just pulled the witch onto her lap, and handed the controller over to Faith.

Pausing in her leg duel with the blonde--whoever knocked the other person's socks off first, in the literal sense, won--the elder brunette held the empty bowl of pretzels that she and Buffy devoured, up to the reigning champion. "Refill it, will ya, Mos Def? We're out. But when you get back, this is gettin' settled."

He went without argument, as this was their way to humble him just a bit. It didn't matter that he could wipe the floor with their pixels, because they could still force him to retrieve snacks under threat of physical violence. But he had to let them know, "If Angel didn't get cheap on us and pay for this ancient-ass coaster, I could hook up the multitap and be wastin' ya all at once in Black." He was out of the room before any of the thrown pairs of shoes could connect with his head.

"Damn cue ball," Faith grumbled, having had just about enough, "knockin' a modern classic like that."

"Playing the new one would've been cool, though." Kennedy had to concede.

Buffy saw the break in the action as an opportunity to finally have a question answered. "Where was I when Angel joined this century?"

"Uh, well, you were in Sunnydale, B, and...he was here." Her partner spoke like she was addressing a child. "In LA. It's a city. Lotsa streets and stuff, ya know? Tall buildings..."

"Bitch." The blonde stuck her tongue out and kicked Faith in the leg.

While Fred explained something about how the Wolfram and Hart contract promised them signing bonuses in the form of cashiers checks, and how their boss went on an 'Electronics Impulse-Buying Spree,' Willow was more interested in the easy rapport of once enemies, which gave the impression that it had existed for far longer than supposed, factual history would lead her to believe. She'd had her suspicions for years concerning certain things that might've taken place, things that were named once she became aware of her gaiety, but most of all, there was simply an enviable comfortableness between them.

And though it appeared to just spring up out of thin air, she knew it had always been present; it was just never permitted to be felt or seen before. Well, she was seeing it now, in all its subtle it glory. On the less-obvious end of the scale, the proof was in the fact that they were laughing and talking in close bodily proximity, with their shoulders in a loose, relaxed state. On the extreme end, they were playing 'Footsie,' for Goddess' sake. A more, competitive, rough-around-the-edges brand to be sure, but 'Footsie' nonetheless. Not that she was anti-feet, but come on, it was Buffy and Faith. Weirder still?

Buffy was smiling. From plain-old, normal enjoyment of life. Specifically, enjoyment of 'Video Game Bonding.' Surprise, surprise.

"How's the other game going?" Fred asked the witch, bringing her out of her musings. "Downstairs. Did you see?"

Willow smirked, remembering how the men frowned at her as she re-entered the lobby. "If Dawnie keeps winning, she's gonna have a pretty hefty college fund. 'Male pride' is so fragile." It changed into a smile as she hesitantly explained, "She used to play Poker with Spike all the time."

It relieved her when her friend didn't sink into depression at the mention of his name. "There's no way he taught her how to win, though. Spike sucked at it." She grinned at the personal memory. "He was always losing kittens."

Faith shrugged. "Least he could still suck somethin'. Nah, wait..." She remembered hearing of the sexcapades then, much to her delight. "You two boinked regular, yeah? Had to be some sucking somewhere--he do most of it, or was it fifty-fifty?"

A week ago that would've gotten her a punch in the jaw, but Buffy's response was verbal, spoken through grinning lips. "I don't care how sex-starved you are, I'm not giving you fantasy-fuel, so you can forget it. Want help? Rent a porno."

"Your call--I'd edit out Billy Bleach-Head, anyway. I like feelin' that warmth where it counts. Fred knows, don'tcha, Tex?" The brunette countered with a wink, making the skinnier one blush. "'Sides, couple visuals of you is all I need."

"That so?"

"Doesn't mean I didn't get any action on the Block; girl's gotta take pleasure when she can." The Bostonian must have had that grin patented she was so good at it.

"Liar." The petite slayer called her bluff. "You know you were totally celibate."

Faith raised her eyebrows. "I was?"

"Yes. One, because it's...seriously unsanitary." Buffy made a 'yuck' face. "And two, cause you don't like *women*. Do you?"

Willow couldn't help but notice the emphasis on the plural noun and the intense gaze while they waited for confirmation, which came as a shaking head. Kennedy's reply to this was, "Geez, I was starting to think we weren't the only lesbians in the room."

Her girlfriend reminded the slayers that they weren't having a private conversation, and Willow filed this away as Fred volunteered, "Well, I-I think I'm bi, most likely, cause in high school, my friends and I, we'd hang out and smoke weed and usually do...things. *Lots* of things. At least till the bag was empty. It was fun and we weren't hurtin' anybody; pot's really not as evil as people say. I mean, I didn't think it was so terrible. But one day I came to class stoned." She giggled secretively, breaking to sip her beer. "Like, completely baked. I forget what happened exactly, but I do remember that it wasn't the smartest decision ever, cause they told my folks. Then I, uh, sorta had to stop for a while. Until college, anyway."

When the stunned silence lifted, Faith was the first to laugh, and then they all did. The kind where it seems impossible to stop; at the end, she had an apology to give. "I was so off about you, Fred. Totally wrong. Anybody asked, I woulda sworn you were as laced as they come--like these two." She gestured to Buffy and Willow. "Before they started doin' all sorts of wild and freaky--"

"Kennedy!" Willow exclaimed, seeing the guilty look immediately. "You didn't! You-you can't! You haven't...have you? Private bedroom stuff is supposed to stay, well, private bedroom stuff! Goddess, that's like, that's...an unspoken rule. Big and important, like all unspoken rules. But you just went ahead and broke it, a-and--"

"And I was bragging." Her girlfriend said, trying to lighten the blow of her mistake with a kiss. "Because you're talented. She's a majorly horny ex-con, who hasn't had sex since she got out; except with a guy, which doesn't count at all. See? That's why I had to rub it in." She pouted like a scolded puppy. "It was fun, and I couldn't pass it up--forgive me?"

"No, I'm a fugitive." Faith corrected, as if she were proud of it. "Least till tomorrow when I'm sprung officially. Angel's workin' the system." She looked up at Fred, grinning. "Wanna celebrate? Show me some of those things? Buffy here might wanna give you a drug test to make sure you're clean, though. She's into my sex-life now; doesn't want me catching."

"Don't worry, I'm very squeaky these days." Fred promised, glad Gunn wasn't here for this part. They'd 'made up,' if that was the right term, but the awkwardness did still pop in to cause friction occasionally.

Buffy had tuned out the conversation after the Physics prodigy's story. Her eyes were on the car selection screen of Twisted Metal 2, which triggered something. She'd been spending the past couple minutes wracking her brain until the pieces came together, and now she excitedly gripped Faith's arm, and whispered into her ear.

Then the other slayer ditched the discussion, eyes wide and gleaming. "Son of a bitch...I forgot that code! How'd you even...?"

"A kid I used to counsel at school would only talk to me if we spent half the time on video games and reading magazines. Guess it just stuck." The blonde shrugged.

"You rock, B."

"I'm aware." Grin. "Hurry, I hear him coming. Put it in." It was entered, and the car was selected, much to the devilish delight of all the vengeful females in the room.

Anya would've felt right at home.

"All we got left is corn chips. So eat up and let's go." Gunn announced, chucking the bowl in Faith's direction. The brunette caught it easily as he headed for his seat. "Dunno why you keep comin'. You know I'm just gonna school you--for the hundredth time tonight."

"Where's the salsa?" Buffy inquired, searching for necessary dipping condiment and not finding it.

Hearing that just added fuel to the fire for Faith. "Park it, Shaft-Lite, and get ready to burn." She grinned wickedly. "Anything goes."

The thrashing didn't take but a minute or so. Gunn froze the instant he saw the giant, black battle-tank, Minion, on the top half of the television screen. Faith rammed and fired her way to a quick, yet satisfying victory. Releasing the controller, she high-fived her partner in crime, and breathed in the suddenly sweeter air, amid the cheers. The black man would eventually rise and go home, maybe do some pushups, forgetting this ever happened.

"Now I'm hungry...we're going for Chinese. Oughta be enough time to explain the Sherlocks' little soap opera. Trust me, it's wicked fucked." She told the blonde, getting them both to their feet. "Not tired, are ya?"

"Wide awake. Egg rolls are my weakness." Buffy was all for it. "Which you know."

"Yeah, hafta give you props somehow. I wouldn't've stomped him without you, and nothing says 'thanks for the assist' better than Tsao." There was another thing that did, but that wasn't in the cards right now. Faith cleared her throat. "You got cash, right?" She got an eye-roll as they followed the girlfriends out into the hallway.

"We'll be busy for the next couple hours." Kennedy smirked, a playful glint in her eye as she dragged the redhead along. "But save us the leftovers."

The slayers exchanged grins because they knew there wouldn't be any, before it occurred to Buffy that, "We don't drive." Faith missed her point. "It's still raining."

Fred jogged up from behind with a remedy to their problem. "Hey, I have an umbrella. If you get me tacos on the way back..."

"Mexican sounds good, too...deal." The older said, chuckling as their helpful, new friend went to get their protection.

"She's cool." The younger's companion nodded agreeably. "But I'm outta practice, and she's not the way to go. Maybe when we find the place..." She trailed off, thinking to herself. "Aren't Chinese guys the ones who know all those positions?"

"You're thinking of Indians. They wrote that book--The Lama Suitor. Or something. I should really get into the 'Reading Craze' before it dies out."

"You sure? I thought they made that spicy crap."

"I dunno--might be Thai. But so what if they do?"

"Cause if you spend all your time spicin' up food, the sex can't be that great."

Buffy shook her head after a second. "How come I get the feeling that logic, no matter hard it tries, won't ever be able to save this conversation? And that's a shame, because the holes need filling."

"Here you go!" Fred raced back to them and handed over the umbrella to Faith, who began to twirl it and hum, 'I'm Singin' in the Rain.' She handed money to Buffy. "I like the soft shells."

When the humming became lyrics, the petite slayer groaned. Was it too late to go back to being mortal enemies?

*****

Duly impressed, Faith exhaled as they entered the lobby of Wolfram and Hart's former L.A. branch the following afternoon, which was now Angel's new headquarters. Her brows came together in appreciation when she felt the plush carpeting underneath her feet. "Daaaaaaamn." She whistled and looked around, watching the endless stream of people rush by them, until she spotted a semi-familiar figure.

"Nice to see you again, too." Lilah drawled, having heard Faith's comment as she crossed the short distance from the reception desk to where Angel's ragtag, 'Band of Misfits: The Next Generation' was congregating. "While I am still flattered by your...interest in me, I just don't see it working out. And yes, I know 'persistence' is usually a virtue...for a fact actually, but--"

"Unless you wanna lose it again, Marie," Faith drew her finger across her neck with a smile, "your hole should be shutting, *now*. Cause you know, I'm impulsive--in a, 'Oh God, that hurts, make the pain stop' kinda way."

"You do like them feisty, don't you?" Lilah responded, smiling as her gaze momentarily wandered between Buffy, who merely raised a contemptuous eyebrow at her, and Faith, before settling on Angel.

"I can handle the tour this time," The vampire finally piped up, brushing past Lilah and motioning for the others to follow him, "thanks." He somehow managed to make the word sound both mocking and dismissive.

Lilah remained quiet, though her smirk was firmly in place as he and the gang continued into the office, watching as Buffy closed the distance between her and the other slayer, and then leaned so that virtually no space existed between them to whisper almost directly into her ear. "Hmmm," The 'dead' woman purred, her smile growing as the feisty brunette turned to respond, all the while maintaining their intimate position, "if I cared, I'd probably exploit that."

*****

"As fascinating as the many shiny, and 'pushy' buttons on this cappuccino," Giles started, the last word coming out with considerable distaste, "maker may be, I think we're all a bit more curious to learn how you're able to walk through this building without experiencing a horrible, blistering, fiery death." He finished, noting with some satisfaction that almost immediately Angel stopped running his hands over the machine.

"Sure, that could be informative, too." Angel acknowledged, slowly inching himself away from the refreshment table as his keen detecting skills observed the visitors exchanging amused looks at his perfectly reasonable appreciation for such a finely crafted apparatus. Straightening his jacket, he began to speak again as he strode into the center of the room. "Whole building's fitted with necro-tempered glass--thirty percent more energy efficient and that means," He paused to glance back at the man who criticized his tour-guiding skills, "no chance of a horrible, blistering, fiery death."

"Way to go with the imagery there, Taster's Choice." Faith quipped, winking at Angel before quickening her step to catch up, slapping him on the back as the group continued through the lounge area and out into the second floor hallway.

"Taster's...?" Giles started to ask, but then he shook his head and quieted down, because he didn't want to know.

"Why didn't we ever think of that?" Buffy wondered, looking over at Willow.

"So much to mock, so little time; we were bound to miss a few." The redhead answered, smiling at the blonde. "At least someone was here to pick up the slack."

"The power of positive thinking." Buffy smiled, glad her best friend had accompanied them. "You amaze me, Will. Plus, it's nice to know we're keeping her around for a reason."

"Yeah, I'm so sure that's why." Willow mumbled under her breath, smirking as Buffy bounced on her feet in attempt to keep the rest of their party in view amidst the throng of people scurrying about. She was fairly certain there was another reason they were keeping Faith around; the evidence last night made that clear. If her friend wasn't so dense, or decided to stop the selective denial...'Sweet, sweet, simple Buffy.' She sighed to herself, shaking her head.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Willow assured her, brightly. "Look, they're over there."

*****

"Go, go Gadget.laser crotch web.thing." Buffy sputtered rather lamely as she watched a series of lights shoot out from just below Fred's waist, and spiral into a mesh-like design. "What *is* that?" A slightly alarmed and scared expression spread across her features while Fred beamed and Willow nodded her head excitedly as the two conversed, caught in the thrall of 'Geeker Joy.'

"A 'Laser-Crotch Web' thing." Faith stated easily as she leaned against the lab's back wall with Buffy. "You don't have?" She feigned a surprised look. "I'm telling ya, you're missing out. After you've gone 'Laser-Crotch,' everything else is ass soup."

"How did you ever become so extremely helpful?" Buffy's voice dripped with sarcasm as she glared.

"'Murder Rehab.'" The ex-con replied instantly, her eyes glued to her boot as she tapped it rhythmically on the tile floor.

"Really?"

"Nah--just, when I don't have anything else, it's a handy fall back." The brunette grinned over at the petite slayer a second later. "You'd be surprised where that can fit in."

Buffy shook her head, trying not to smile. "Suddenly wishing. Oh. My. God...Whatthehellaretheydoing?!?" Buffy exclaimed, eyes landing on Willow and Fred. The Texan's back was facing them, but she could make out Willow on her knees in front of the aforementioned southerner, leaning forward so that her face was almost in.in...*There*.

Faith raised her eyebrows slightly, her only reaction a sly grin. "Who knew science had perks?" She asked her fellow spectator, lewdly; she chuckled when the blonde rolled her eyes. "You started it."

"You made it dirty.er." Buffy realized that she did kind of start it.

"I'm spic and span, baby." Faith protested, raising her hands up. "I mean, she's just examining a crotch laser. You're the one that had to go rollin' in it."

"You totally rolled." Buffy accused, knowing Faith had planted her mind firmly in the gutter. "You can't not roll in it; you have a pass so you can roll in it year-round. You're so roll-happy that that's where you have to read your mail. Probably got dirty envelopes all over the place...those poor Hallmark cards." She saw the Bostonian smirk and cock her head as if to concede the point.

Faith scanned the lab quietly, though she could feel Buffy's eyes on her, so she struggled to keep her expression neutral. Any second Buffy was going to begin wondering if she had really been right about her being in the gutter, then she'd feel bad for assuming that the brunette only thought about sex. "Wanna examine my crotch laser?" Dead on, perfect timing--deserved a mental, pat on the back, because Buffy narrowed her eyes and started walking away. "Ah, come on; I'm sorry." Touching the blonde's shoulder lightly, she continued when she had her attention again. "That was wrong. We're supposed to be trying a new foot, and here I am being all selfish." She sounded sincere, like she was seeking penance. "*I'll* examine *your* crotch laser. See? I can give when I want to."

Buffy opened her mouth, her face a mask of indignant outrage, but after a second of thought, she closed it. "I can't even be offended by you anymore." She breathed out, looking confused. "I mean it--I think about responding and all my brain has to say is, 'Eh.' That's it; I've become immune."

"Let's blow." Faith was bored by the revelation. It wasn't possible: her sexual innuendos were like viruses. They'd grow, evolve, and offend yet again. She was sure of it.

"What?" Buffy squeaked, apparently not as immune as she believed.

"Busted." Faith grinned, but quickly dropped it, deciding to be a humble winner. "Let's get outta here, B; it's boring and nobody's into us. Dunno why, cause we're stacked."

Angel and Giles were tentatively poking at the keyboard of a computer under the watchful eye of a technician, while Fred and Willow talked softly, giggling often and pointing at strange objects located on top of the bench beside them.

"What'd you have in mind?"

Faith wiggled her brow mischievously. "Stuff."

"Wacky stuff?" Buffy asked, straightening up and pushing off the wall.

"Crazy insane."

"I'm in."

*****

"We are so bad." Buffy declared, carefully peeking her head around the corner to watch the chaos they had just caused in the lunchroom. "Everybody's like, 'huh,' 'where,' 'I don't understand.' Suckers." She watched as the co-workers conversed with themselves and gestured wildly, pointing and throwing their hands up in the air. "Now they totally have to pour some milk in and *then* get a whole different carton and pour some cream in! It's mayhem in there...pure mayhem." Stealing the Half-and-Half was her idea, and proud she was.

Faith gurgled a reply, which the blonde assumed was disinterest, because she wasn't looking. "Oh come on, you know it was great, and...what are you doing?" Her sentences ran together as she viewed her partner in crime gulping from a container.

"Thirsty." The brunette answered as if it was a perfectly reasonable explanation. "You?" She offered the drink to Buffy, who just stared. "More for me." She chugged again, and then tossed the empty container on the floor. "We should steal all the toilet paper on the fourth floor."

"Why the fourth?"

"Because it's below the fifth?" Faith shrugged as she stared into the distance. "Besides, never liked fours all that much." She added, shifting her gaze to hold the blonde's eyes.

"Am I supposed to ask how come, or...?" Buffy couldn't believe that everyone in high school thought *she* was the weird one. 'High functional schizophrenic' her ass--she was so completely the normal.ish one.

"You wanna steal the toilet paper or not?" Faith didn't address the question. What was the point? Nobody understood.

"Can we turn all the hand dryers on?"

"Whatever hikes your skirt, B."

"Let's do it." Buffy agreed, leading the way to the elevators after Faith snatched herself another carton for the road.

*****

"I already pushed it." Faith said peevishly as Buffy jabbed the 'Up' button repeatedly.

"Drink your cream." The blonde retorted, pushing the button again, and smiling when the brunette's eyes narrowed.

"It's not gonna--" Lowering the carton she had begun to drink from during Buffy's comeback, Faith ate her words as the doors to the elevator opened, and the petite annoyance looked far too pleased with herself. "Shut up." Was all she said as they stepped into the elevator.

"You're so cranky all the time." Buffy commented as she turned to the button panel. "Maybe we should warm that up for you," She glanced at the Half-and Half, "just in time for your afternoon nap."

"*Siesta*." Faith corrected, grumbling. "And they were mandatory. Don't diss me cause I followed 'The Con Day-Planner.'" She frowned as Buffy reached for a button. "I'm pushing." She announced petulantly, slapping the smaller hand away.

The blonde looked at the back of her hand, surprised, and then over at Faith as she reached for the button, defiant. "No, *I'm* pushing. Put that in your planner." She knocked the competing hand down, stared challengingly at its owner.

"Somebody stole it." Faith emphasized 'stole' somewhat bitterly. "So I'm jus' gonna hafta do my thing." She grasped Buffy's wrist as she reached for the button again. "Which means, the button is mine."

"We'll go to the mall tomorrow, I'll buy you a 'Hello Kitty Fantasy Pack,' and you'll be footloose and fancy free." Buffy offered, in mid-struggle. She'd managed to get one of her hands around the brunette's wrist too, so they were basically pushing and squeezing each other, getting no closer to the button. "But you are *not* pushing that button."

"Am."

"Not." The blonde fired back, trying to lean her upper body towards the panel. If she could get her nose by.

"AM."

"NOT."

"AM."

"NOT."

"You're short!" Faith exclaimed, smiling when Buffy loosened her grip, being shocked by the attack on her height. "Ha!" Triumphant, she extended her finger towards its prize.

"Birthing hips!" Buffy shouted, sticking out her own finger to do battle, as the brunette shot her an, 'I don't think so' look. "Yeah, you!" Both of them randomly poked at the button panel, mostly scratching each other, but occasionally they connected with some buttons; of course, neither could say which ones.

"What's that?" Faith asked suddenly, calling an end to the duel.

"You were gonna bite me." Buffy stated matter-of-factly, having seen Faith's mouth moving for her finger prior to the distraction.

"You wish."

Buffy stared at her for a minute, hard--Faith had definitely been primed for biting, which she did *not* wish for. Eventually she got over it, and immediately spotted what had captured Faith's attention on the panel. "White Room." The large button that would take them there had appeared at the top. She remembered Angel's 'cue-card' tour.

"Score." Faith smacked the 'secret' button with the side of her fist, and within a moment, they were blinded by light.

*****

Buffy extended her hand, feeling around for where the interior of the elevator should have been, only to feel and see nothing. Glancing over at Faith, who was slowly moving towards the center of the room sipping from her drink, she uttered disappointedly, "I really thought it'd be whiter." And she was more than a little disquieted to hear that her voice didn't reverberate like it normally would've in an empty space.

"This is wicked creepy." Faith spoke a moment later, turning around to face her companion before stepping up to her.

"I know." Buffy exhaled, actually relieved to feel the presence near her. "It's like we're alone...completely alone."

Faith smirked a bit. "Well, we kinda.are."

"Thank you, 'Ms. Takes Things Too Literally.'" The blonde said, showing off her 'Not Amused' face. "I happened to be speaking.not-literally."

"That clears it up." Faith snickered, sarcastic, which drew an unimpressed look her way. She sighed, hating to see that; it made her sad for some reason. "Not-literally alone, literally alone. what's it matter? We're still hot chicks with super powers."

Buffy recalled the last time she heard these words, and she looked at her fellow slayer with a now, affectionate expression. "Takes the edge off."

"Just comforting."

"Uh huh." The blonde allowed them to lapse into silence briefly, so they could bask in their own wit and enjoy each other's company. "We should get back." She shook her head at the room in general, letting it know that it didn't meet her expectations.

"There you go again." Faith exclaimed, though she did turn her head slightly to look for a way out. "Why you always be dissin' Whitey?"

"Coming from the Ghetto Superstar, that hurts.not at all, actually." Buffy replied, backtracking to their entry point to feel around for an invisible something that might help.

"Don't be playa hatin'." Faith tried not to laugh at the sight of Buffy caressing thin air.

"I don't hate the playa; I be hatin' on the game.dawg." The elder slayer's hand jerked back suddenly when it connected with that invisible something, and the air began to shimmer, revealing an open elevator door when it was all shimmered out.

Faith calmly stepped into the elevator as if she had expected it to show up that very moment, though she did pat the problem solver on the back as if to say, 'Well done.' "The dif between me and you is, I can talk 'Street.' But you, you go 'B-Rad' on everyone's ass."

"Are you saying I'm not fly?" Buffy asked, quirking an amused eyebrow.

"To me, you're flying high." Faith told her with sincerity, causally draping an arm around the blonde's shoulder and squeezing her body playfully. "Which is saying somethin', considering you're a major, HelL-A brat." She added, simply smiling when hazel eyes rolled at her. "And even though you're tricked out on that 'Sweet Valley High' crap, we can still hang. My hand to...whatever the hell's up there, I *swear* I'll get you help." She offered graciously, clicking finger guns at Buffy as she backed out of the open doors. "I'm.holy shit!" She whirled around to see ten security guards surrounding the elevator, all of whom had guns and assorted weapons pointed at them.

Faith dropped to the ground, her right hand coming to rest on the back of her head, her left extending to point at the blonde. "She did it."

Buffy, who had raised her hands as well but remained upright, incredulously turned her gaze to Faith, who was totally punking her out. "She's got a record!" Pointed right back. "Look at her--did you see how she hit the deck? She's obviously done hard time, tasted steel." She rambled, imploring the guards to aim their guns in a direction that was not at her.

"Tasted steel?" Faith started to flip around so that she could face her accuser, but then she returned to her 'Don't shoot me' position when one of the guards waved his weapon at her in a manner that did not inspire her confidence. "We live, you're hanging by yourself." She muttered, the comment directed at Buffy, knowing that it would be heard.

'Tasted steel'? The girl was beyond help.

"I'm not the one about to get a cavity search." Buffy sing-songed, unfazed by the jibe.

Though it seemed like they were at odds, the slayers were ready to come to the other's aid, should they have to.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Sweet Cheeks." A female guard interjected, reaching for a pair of handcuffs with her eyes trained on Buffy, who found herself with nothing to say.

"But.I was a cheerleader." The nicknamed choked out as two guards slowly approached her, and she gulped as Faith was being unceremoniously hauled to her feet, chuckling. "What're you laughing at?"

"You're a clencher, I can tell." It was all Faith needed to say for the other detainee to whip her head around and gape at the guards that were inching ever so nearer.

Unconvincingly, "They wouldn't."

"Oh, they would." Came a familiar voice from the side. Both girls saw Angel calmly strolling up to them and their new friends. "Come here." Stopping, he crooked two fingers, beckoning them before nodding at the guards to let them go. Once the troublemakers stood in front of him, he placed his hands on each of their shoulders and shook his head, beginning to speak in a stern, fatherly voice. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to reform an evil law firm? Believe it or not, the answer would be, 'Very.' There's constantly factors to consider; too many, but hey, I've got nothing better to do with my eternal life, so I might as well give it a try."

"That's good; you should challenge yourself once in a while." Buffy encouraged.

"If it isn't a bitch, it isn't worth doin'." Faith had modified it, but she was sure that she'd originally adopted the saying from someplace. Proverbs were cool.

He bit the inside of his cheek in frustration, before continuing like they hadn't interrupted. "Wanna know my biggest problem right now? Turns out the demon running the mailroom can't stand the sound of human laughter, which has gotta be ironic somehow; I just wish, *certain people* would've mentioned it when I took the job." Pausing briefly to stop himself from ranting, he also let it dawn on the girls. "Thanks to you two, everyone in the building knows not to do what you've been doing for the last hour--guess what I'm talking about." His posture said, 'We both know you don't need to.' "That's right, and it's," he drew the word out as the slightest hint of a very rare, pleading whine laced his words, betraying his authoritative exterior, "not good. So could ya knock it off?"

Buffy and Faith nodded vigorously. "Yeah."

He squeezed their shoulders with a satisfied smile, and waved the guards off. "Hurry up, the others are waiting."

"Hey, Hair Gel," Faith called out as they began to follow him down the hallway, "you got any more Half-and-Half around here?" Angel looked over at her curiously. "Left mine in the White Room."

"She was thirsty." Buffy supplied the explanation, exchanging a look with the vampire before bumping her shoulders against Faith's, playfully.

"You're so judgmental." The brunette's tone was equally light. "'Don't kill people,' 'Don't sleep with my boyfriends,' 'Don't drink Half-and-Half,' 'Put down my underwear.' Jesus...lighten up."

*****

Faith paused in the doorway as she noticed Angel step off to the side and rest his shoulder against the wall. Returning her eyes to Buffy, Willow and Giles for a moment while they walked into the room where Cordelia lay, she then stepped back herself and turned to face the vampire, speaking low. "You coming?"

"No."

Despite the casualness of his stance, she could tell that he was feeling restless, stressed. She'd never spent much time around Angel and Cordelia together; she hadn't seen them interact. Why? Because the first time she'd come to L.A., she was too busy trying to kill him, and knocking her unconscious. However, during her brief period with 'Team: Angel' a few weeks ago, she'd gotten the impression that the two had become tight over the years. Which meant it had to be killing him to see her like this. Probably brought up weepy emotions and shit. She didn't blame him--if things were reversed, she wouldn't have gone in there with a bunch of other people around, either.

Turning to the doorway once more, Faith took a step forward to enter the room, freezing a mere, couple paces in. The atmosphere of the room had surrounded her like a damp mist. Standing around the side of Cordelia's bed looking down at her, the three other visitors were unnervingly quiet and still. Too quiet, as it made the sound of her heart beating seem loud and harsh.

"I just saw her." Willow breathed out softly, reaching out as if she were going to touch Cordelia's hand, but stopping before actual contact. "We, caught up, you know. Laughed. Brainstormed a little. She was almost.glowing."

She knew now that it hadn't really been Cordy she was talking to when she'd come to return Angel's soul, but in a way, it didn't matter, because it had been at the time. Her and Cordelia...old friends catching up. And that's what she retained, the warmth of that moment, the pleasantness, the comfort of someone so familiar. It had been real for her, and that's what hurt so much--her last, most pleasant moment with Cordelia, hadn't been with Cordelia at all.

"I couldn't tell; I should have..." She paused, closing her eyes. They'd known each other since Kindergarten, why didn't she see? If she had... "I might've been able to..." Overwhelmed by it all, she trailed off once again.

It was Cordelia. A person who wasn't silent, who wasn't supposed to be a shell lying on a bed...it was Cordelia.

"This should never have happened." Buffy whispered, studying the ex-cheerleader's face and its smooth, lifeless features. Then she turned her head to the side slightly, her jaw tensing as she blinked rapidly, eyes stinging with unshed tears. "She should've been.she would've been...safe. Never like." Her thoughts sunk below the surface, and she lost the words. Sucking in a breath, she looked back at the comatose woman, shoulders rigid.

"Buffy--" The redhead started to protest, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder upon hearing the closed off self-blame.

"Don't, Will." The blonde interrupted, drawing away from that supportive hand. She wasn't sure she could've talked much more anyway, even if she wanted to.

It felt like lead weights had been attached to every limb of her body, when she'd just gotten rid of them--funny, in a sad kind of way. Yesterday the world had near literally been those weights, but a thwarted apocalypse, a clean shower and a good night's sleep, helped it seem as though there'd only been air on her back. What caused them to come crashing down again? Walking in and seeing Cordelia lifeless. As a bonus, because she wasn't expecting it, the ache was harder and more painful than it ever was yesterday.

Death and destruction; those were her gifts which she'd given to Cordelia, wrapped in pretty paper with a bow the very day they'd met. She'd cursed the beauty queen, bringing nothing but misery and setting her on the path to this soft, comfy deathbed.

Faith's shoulders suddenly jerked in response to a slight pressure on her chest; she hadn't even realized she was moving. Looking sharply to her side, she saw Willow standing just in front of her, lightly pressing and discouraging any further movement into the room. Movement towards Buffy. The witch just shook her head at the glare, her eyes staying on Faith even as the brunette lifted a hand up to remove hers.

The elder slayer was in a place where she wouldn't be receptive to anyone, Willow knew that. Time was needed to process, and they needed to leave and give it to her. Her best friend watched Faith lean forward then, as if she were going to continue into the room, as she took a few more steps towards her, and finally, as she stopped. She breathed deeply, willing herself not to go another inch.

Focusing her attention on Buffy--and Giles, who was now beside the blonde, his hand allowed to rest on her shoulder--the younger slayer bit her lip, needing to think. She was aware of Willow's presence and the inner-urge to simply walk over and do something...*anything*. Her partner was hurting; she could feel it battering against her senses, rolling off in waves. And if there was one thing she'd learned about herself, it was that she couldn't stand to see Buffy in this state. She wanted to make it end, but she'd have to do it standing there, which was impossible.

There was nothing she could do; this wasn't something she could save her from. Nor could she force Buffy to redirect her frustrations, like she'd done in the alleyway outside of the Bronze. Trying for a calming inhale, Faith viewed Giles with envy--he was Buffy's sentinel, her silent guardian. She wished she could be there in that capacity, but 'stillness' wasn't her nature. She might be able to manage it for a few minutes, until the desire to act, to attempt to make things better, to make Buffy better, overtook her. That'd make the situation worse.

Exhaling her frustration, Faith looked at Willow and nodded, before heading for the door.

*****

The instant Willow closed the door behind them, Faith spun on her heel and punched the nearest wall savagely, before running an agitated hand through her hair. "I fucking hate..." She cut herself off in order to gain some control. "Why does she do this to herself?" Tossing her body against the wall, she folded her arms across her chest.

"She's always done this." The redhead sighed, keeping her distance. She didn't really like to be in close proximity when the brunette was all riled. "It's a slayer thing."

"No," Faith exclaimed more forcefully than she'd intended, looking over at Willow, "it's a Buffy thing." She continued in a more reasonable, though still frustrated tone.

Angel took a few steps towards the slayer as she quieted down, reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder, drawing her eyes over to him. He could feel her frustration in the tenseness of her muscles; she was coiled like a bow.

"It's not." Faith said softly, more assuring herself as she moved out from underneath her surrogate big brother's hand, somewhat calmer from the contact. "Why the hell does she think every fucking thing is her fault?"

"It's how she is." Angel responded almost in a whisper, his gaze momentarily drifting over to the closed door. "It's who she is."

"I got that, Holmes. Sorta hard to miss." Faith sighed, barely sparing him a look. "A goddamn drama queen." Just because she got it didn't mean she had to support the blonde's self-destructive qualities.

"The sash and tiara--" He started.

"--Probably got lost in the mail." The witch finished, smirking, and they were glad to see the slayer's stance relax and her shoulders loosen.

The three of them lapsed into silence after that, each lost in their own thoughts, before Willow spoke up. "She looked good." She did it more to break the quiet than anything else, which had become uncomfortable.

"She was in the bathroom for like a friggin' hour this morning--she should." Faith grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Came out looking like shit, then I'd be pissed."

"I was talking about Cordelia." Willow replied slowly, eyeing Faith as if the girl had gone insane...again.

"Right." The brunette replied immediately, with a quick glance of acknowledgement to the speaker, before looking away. "That's who I was talking about, too."

The redhead smirked at that, her eyes drifting over to the vampire who wore a similarly dubious expression on his face, the two of them enjoying a moment at Faith's expense while the person in question suddenly started down the hall. "Where're you going?"

"Get a sticky bun." Faith responded in a belabored tone, turning around. "Anyone else want?" She asked somewhat sarcastically, just wanting to get away, take a walk. Awkward silences weren't her thing, and besides, she hated feeling impotent, powerless.

"That'd be nice." Willow told her sweetly, smiling a moment later. "If there's any 'pecan' ones...yum. You could have them delivered right to the hallway, care of: Me."

The Bostonian stared at her until she couldn't stop the smirk from appearing. "Guess you want a plate too, huh? Princess?" Goddamn witches.

Shrug and another smile. "I'm high maintenance that way."

"No laughing!" Angel called after Faith as she resumed her trek down the hall.

"You know, occasionally? You're very strange." Willow commented. "Cause I don't think the chances of 'Laughter Gales' are super high right now."

"With those two..." There was skepticism in Angel's reply as he trailed off, watching Faith's figure disappear around the corner. "Do you get what's funny about cavity searches?"

"Are you okay?" She asked, turning to him, while he was still looking off in the distance. His mood could change that fast.

When he met her eyes, there was desperation written all over his expression. "Could you...I mean, would you want to...maybe see what you can do?" He knew she was powerful, more powerful than anyone at Wolfram and Hart, and he needed her to try. But she looked at him with puzzlement. "For Cordelia. Please."

Her heart broke when she heard the sadness there. "Could, would, and will...silly question. Of course I want to." She informed him. "Everybody wants her back, Angel, and I'm gonna stay till she really is. She'll wake up, promise." A little, encouraging smile. "I'll cast my darndest, as long as I have to, but it'll take a while--won't be speedy."

"Need a new head of our 'Mystical Division'...you want it, job's yours. There's good dental." He offered as a solution to the financial problem that would arise, and as an incentive. "The last one was a Naa'dek sorceress, lot of flash, not a lot of talent. She also thought vampires were polluting the demonic race...I didn't like having poisonous bile spit at me." He winced at the memory. "And her résumé was a flat out lie. I try to be a fair boss, but somebody always has to pull something. Ticks me off."

She waited a minute to let him cool down, and then she responded. "I'll think about it." Making life-decisions a day out of Sunnydale wasn't wise. It was obvious, however, that his 'hurry' attitude came from caring deeply about Cordelia, and she had a good idea how deep that caring went. The stress of keeping this entire building functioning had to be growing on top of that, as well.

Angel focused on the small window in the door that allowed him to see Buffy and Giles, standing together by Cordelia. Part of him wanted to go in there and comfort her, just as Faith wanted to. And that made him remember the havoc they caused, making him smile wryly. "I knew if they ever got along they'd be...tough to deal with. But I never expected them to be so..."

"Rambunctious?" Willow supplied with a grin, able to follow easily, because the antics of the slayers had been on her mind all afternoon. "Nutty and happy?"

"Young."

"They are young, though. Young, youthful people. It's just kinda delayed; for all of us." She explained to him. "I think making up for lost time is a good thing--we should catch up. Well, everybody except you and Giles. Cause you might look goofy, being so ol...um, mature and-and wise and all. N-no offense or anything."

"None taken." Hiding the sting, he thought he was adapted very well to the youth culture of this century. Had he or had he not bought himself a video game console?

"But you've picked up on it too, right? Between Buffy and--"

He interrupted her. "It's their lives. Whatever they wanna do, they can do." Looking at Willow, he attempted to brush the topic aside by acting nonchalant.

"Pretty sure I didn't ask that." Her voice was soft but firm.

Angel couldn't able to help the small smile of admiration that had come to his face. She'd grown up so much from that little girl who'd been scared to have a boy in her room after dark--now she was all forceful and woman-y.

"Yeah, I noticed, and if they wanna follow through on it, I'll be glad for them." He finally answered, hunching his shoulders a bit before shrugging.

"But?" Willow had caught that slight hesitation.

He skirted that question, instead choosing to further his previous words. "I want them to be happy; I don't care how, just that they are."

"Great, because they both..." She tapered off, leaving the already known, unsaid.

The witch and the vampire lapsed into a comfortable silence once more, after he nodded.

*****

Faith turned her head, training her eyes on the door and watching it intently for a few seconds before it finally began to open. She stepped forward instinctively the second it did. Willow had gone off in search of Fred once the slayer returned with her pecan bun--complete with plate *and* napkin--while Angel stood near the end of the hall, conversing with an employee. So the only one stopping her from screwing this up was her, and her alone.

Giles exited the comatose brunette's room first, his eyes briefly catching the ones of the nervous slayer waiting outside of the door, before walking to Angel, who immediately dismissed the guy from the Accounting department. The two men began to converse, and Buffy started to follow a few seconds later, but stopped her forward motion in the doorway. Torturing herself, she turned back around to look at the unresponsive Cordelia.

"Don't." Faith said softly, closing the distance between them so that they stood side-by-side, giving the appearance that they were blocking off the rest of the world.

The sound of Faith's voice so close to her, made her focus on her companion. And she was surprised by the fact that she wasn't the least bit surprised to find the Bostonian there. Taking a step back, a move Faith mirrored, she shut the door and remained still, staring at it. Knowing she was being watched closely, she then, without another moment's hesitation, faced the other slayer fully, removed the last centimeters of distance, and wrapped one arm around her neck and the other about her waist, drawing her into a tight hug.

Faith returned the hug with gusto, despite her surprise. She hadn't expected the contact, but she certainly wasn't going to do anything to end it. Was fantastic and long overdue. She couldn't remember ever being hugged for no apparent reason, and she definitely couldn't remember it coming from Buffy. But she'd remember this, because it made her feel proud. She was honored that she was able to do this for her--the only thing she wanted was to help.

It felt meaningful also, and for perhaps the first time in her life, she was willing to roll with 'meaningful' for a while, not discard it outright.

"Thanks." Buffy whispered, softly. Pulling back some, her head dipped down with a touch of embarrassment, though she didn't completely break contact with Faith's body.

"For...?" Faith was genuinely curious, watching as the blonde's hand trailed down her arm and their fingers intertwined lightly.

"You know." Buffy stated, looking up and holding Faith's eyes with her own as her fingers dropped away, the physical contact finally broken. Yet she had just engaged the brunette in another sort of contact that was no less profound. "I know you really wanted to come in...I could feel it, how worried you were." She told her, her voice even lower than before. "But I needed some.well, you know." Smiling a little bit, she wondered if Faith's eyes had actually gotten lighter as she spoke, or if it was just her own mood that had improved.

"Yeah." Faith breathed out, smirking, glad to see a smile from her.

"Still, you could've stayed." The petite slayer amended, her tone serious again. "Wouldn't have minded."

"I would've." Faith admitted, looking away briefly. "I just...don't trust myself yet, B."

Confidently, "I did; I do."

Buffy knew the younger slayer still worried about how in control of herself she actually was. About whether or not she could force herself not to act when every muscle in her body, every thought in her brain, demanded activity. Buffy had had that same worry, but in the time she'd spent with her--they'd already gotten themselves into this comfortable place, and it had never taken her long to read her partner--the less she did. Faith would come around to that line of thinking eventually, or she'd have to 'assist' her.

The brunette smiled, her expression both happy and bashful as glanced at the blonde. "I'm always sayin' I've got your back--next time I will."

Buffy grinned at that before snaking her arm casually around Faith's waist. "Let's get outta here." She lead them towards where Giles and Angel were most likely discussing his idea to get the government's assistance with the slayers. She had a call to make, which her ex-watcher reminded her of prior to leaving Cordelia's room. "Jerry'll be on soon."

"You'd watch? For me?" Faith asked, moved, yet bringing them both to an abrupt stop because they were kind of attached.

"I'm a big softy. Plus, there's always helpful combat tips." The blonde shrugged. "I've gotta call Riley later, don't let me forget, okay? It's this gigantically paranoid, covert pain in the ass, so it'll take forever to get through."

Narrowing eyes. "What d'you wanna call FarmDi...uh, him for?"

PART 3

Buffy sighed, her eyes moving from the charcoal ceiling downwards until they landed on Faith, who was standing on the opposite side of the basement. Shifting her weight a smidge so she was leaning more comfortably against the cool surface of the wall, she let her eyes rest on her partner for a moment--the brunette stretched her body to the side, her arm reaching over her head before she rotated her torso slightly, and then placing her hands on the small of her back, she thrust her chest forward, releasing a long, almost guttural sigh as she worked out...whatever it was she was working out.

Rolling her hazel pair at the display, Buffy allowed her gaze to drift to the side, where an extremely bored-looking Kennedy and Vi were sitting on the basement steps: 'They look like I feel.' She watched her best friend's significant other tilt her head upwards at the ceiling, mouth open, before craning her head to the side and rolling it around simply because there was nothing better to do. It was mid-June, and every one of the slayers, old and new, basically had more free time than any human beings should have, while the A.I. team went about business as usual.

Giles had been in touch with governmental types, thanks to Riley; they were brainstorming how to get a new, 'Slayer Organization' off the ground, and a secretive, but out-in-the-open way to attract the attentions of the undiscovered slayers. Willow spent most of her time with Cordelia, using the resources of Wolfram and Hart to discover a mystical, 'Rise and Shine' spell. Dawn shopped daily with Vi, Kennedy, and a clueless, Chao-Ahn--her sister was developing impressive, consumer expertise. Xander had kind of bonded with Lorne, and the two of them had undertaken a remodeling project of the entire hotel.

It was Lorne's hope, with their offices having changed location, that he could turn the place into an actual, economically beneficial, five-star hotel. So they'd hired a mix of human and surprisingly amicable demon workers. Things were going well, but it would still be a while before his dream was realized.

While everyone had their own time occupiers, she and Faith were more or less inseparable, traveling around the city wreaking hijinks, eating, going to movies, eating some more...whatever. And it was fun, very fun--you couldn't tell that they were ever anything other than good friends. This was how it should've been in the beginning. While they loved the mundane, they did have to deal with boredom and the desire to slay. Yet as much as their bodies wanted to, they didn't, using the excuse that there was no need, because Angel had the evil under firm control. Slaying would pop the nice bubble of normality they were in; to work off the itch, the slayers sparred daily, like they were going to now.

Shaking her head, the blonde thought enough was enough. "You gonna stretch all day lil' doggie, or are you gonna bite?" She asked finally, quirking a lazy, but challenging eyebrow in her opponent's direction, smirking for good measure as deep, brown eyes found hers.

Faith held the look briefly, then slowly lowered the arm she'd been stretching so that it hung casually at her side. Not breaking visual contact at all, a slow, deliberate, carnivorous smile eventually crept onto her features. "Just remember, B, you asked me to." She drawled easily, bouncing on her feet a little, prior to moving into the center of the room.

Chewing on her bottom lip expectantly, the taller watched the pint-size shove off of the wall she'd been nonchalantly leaning against to approach her. "Hate to be unoriginal, but ditto. When I've got you on your back begging me for mercy, *you* can remember that for both of us." Buffy smoothly replied, assuming a relaxed, 'ready' position as they began to circle each other.

"Whoa--I haven't heard talk like that since my cellmate got transferred. Coming from you, though, damn...almost sounds like fun." Faith saw two eyes narrow a bit at her comment, and the blonde's expression became more serious. "Make that a promise and we might just have us a party; one for the books. Course, never enjoyed any I was sober at, but...I'm feelin' 'merry' already."

"Why, Faith," an arm lashed out, which was swiftly deflected, and the speaker had to jump over a quick, retaliatory, leg sweep, "I thought you liked it on top."

"Apparently, I'm not the only one." Faith remarked with a grin, dancing backwards out of the reach of the second attack--Buffy's foot. "You know," She continued almost contemplatively as her fist shot out, missing the other slayer's jaw because it was ducked under, "we ever want to, like if we're bummin' around, hours to kill...me and you could *totally* give 'rock 'em, sock 'em' a brand-new meaning. Hell, I know it." Which earned her a gaping, warning stare, and cheeks that had clearly reddened. "Shit...you should see your face."

"'Rock 'em, sock 'em'? Your euphemisms have gotten very abstract." Buffy was working very hard to control the urge to let her reaction to the suggestion completely distract her; 'distraction' wasn't a luxury she could afford to partake in. If she lost her concentration for even a second, she would be the one ending up on her back. "Are you sure you didn't *like* prison?"

"Maybe I would've, if I'd a met someone as packed full of charm as you." Faith countered, smiling. A smile that was quickly wiped off of her face as she went into a back flip, only to come up having to defend a series of well aimed, well timed blows that elicited a hoot and holler from her when they spun around to face each other once more. "Christ, I missed this. Especially the 'Unh.'" She grinned like mad at the woman in front of her, with the adrenaline pumping through her body only increasing.

It made her even more excited when Buffy met her eyes and grinned as well. "That was better. Much less abstract."

Kennedy, who was resting her elbows on her knees, leaning forward to get a better view of the originals in action, turned to look at Vi with widening eyes. "Uh?" She raised her brow questioningly at the shorthaired redhead.

"I think it was more like, 'Unh.'" Vi contorted her features and made a grunting face in demonstration as she spoke, though her voice was quiet enough that it didn't sound throughout the whole room.

"Right. Yeah." Kennedy agreed, except that hadn't really been what she was getting at. She was actually trying to ask, 'What the hell was that about?' But she chose not to clarify.

With Buffy and Faith talking and trying to beat each other again, she had more pressing matters with which to occupy her time.

"Rocked?" Buffy wondered as Faith rubbed her stomach lightly where a certain foot had just connected with it, yet their eyes were still focused on one another.

"More like socked." The Bostonian said before unleashing a complicated series of kicks of punches, and hopping back into her ready position after feeling her last kick connect to the midsection of her now, not-so-cocky sparring partner. "Well check that out...two of a kind."

"Funny." The blonde said wryly, her tone deadpan though her eyes were alight. She was enjoying the fight just as much, if not more, but she had her part to play.

"Hey, c'mon, I gotta give credit where it's due, and we all know you're the funny one here." Faith acted as if she were conceding a point, giving a gracious wave as proof. "I mean, one look at your face, and--" Her arms lifted to block a barrage of punches preventing her from finishing. She would've been broken up about the interruption, but felt that it worked even better with Buffy doing her own, mental 'Fill in the Blank.' "Man, nice 'Fists of Fury,' B." She complimented once the attack stopped and they squared off again. "Somethin' I said?"

"Isn't it always?" Buffy arched an eyebrow, but kept a small smile on her face.

"Nah, sometimes it's something I do." Faith retorted, seizing up the opportunity that had been presented to her. "But it's better when it's both." She winked at the blonde who quickly reddened again. "Got gifts. It's my duty to share. Wherever, whenever."

"Subtle, yet suggestive. Gee, I guess you have changed." Came the sarcastic response, however, the answering grin communicated that it had come too late.

"I can also spell 'Mississippi' without stumbling." Faith said, blowing on her nails and buffing them on her tank top. "You impressed? Turned on, maybe?" She queried, before momentarily losing her balance as she was jumped on and knocked down to the ground temporarily. After she rolled the extra body weight off, they both hopped back onto their feet. "Guess that answers that question. But really, Buffy...we have guests. Save it for the veranda." The response to that last statement was three, perplexed expressions, only one of which she paid attention to. "What? I love a good view."

"Trust me, you wouldn't get to enjoy it." Buffy informed her, not even sparing a glance over at Kennedy and Vi, knowing that that was what she would be expected to do. "Well, at least not the 'garden' view." She smirked a bit at her own suggestiveness, rather proud of herself.

"Gardens are a bitch, anyway. Fun to look at, pain in the ass to maintain." Faith upped the level of innuendo, ignoring the sound of footsteps descending the stairs as she was unwilling to relinquish her advantage. "You're looking a little rosy, B," she saw the nearly imperceptible change in Buffy's expression at her previous words, "you feeling okay? Maybe we oughta take you to bed, go nip this thing in the bud..or is it, 'take the bud and go nippin' in the bed?' Either way's fine by me."

"A floral motif, that's new..and kind of poetic. I'm so proud that you've grown as a flirter." The petite woman didn't want to rise to the dangling bait, though she had to admit that the brunette's teasing had hit its mark, leaving her flushed for the whole basement to witness.

Kennedy managed to rip her eyes away from the dueling slayers when she felt a warm body settle down beside her. Smiling over at the latest spectator, she rested her head on the witch's shoulder. Both of them then resumed watching the battle going on in the middle of the room, while Willow frowned just a little--nope, not yet.

"I got some material about when sweet smelling dew starts drippin' from cherry blossoms..." Faith said with a leer, as the girlfriends retuned in. "If you're game."

"As tempting as that sounds, I'd rather listen to one of your limericks." Came Buffy's response before she tipped her head to the side thoughtfully. "If you can even call them that." Buffy took her shot, gaining control again. "And I used to think the Hellmouth was scary." She continued, smiling sweetly at Faith who sent her an unimpressed look.

"You gonna lay a hellacious ass-whooping on me, too?" Faith asked, expertly dodging a few blows Buffy threw at her.

"Hellaciousness would go against our new, surprisingly satisfying 'friendliness' thing. So I'll settle for a smackdown--if that's agreeable to you and your ass, of course."

"You wanna smack my ass?" Faith deliberately misconstrued that last sentence. "Hold on, I'm not usually into that..but like you said, we have been getting friendly."

"You need to learn when to shut up," Buffy interjected, promptly cutting her off, "anybody ever tell you that?"

"You mean before now?" The glare only gave the brunette steam; she sighed appreciatively. "So tiny, yet so dominant." She made an amused, little face, motioning like she was pinching Buffy's cheeks. "You're so cute."

"I'm.. Not," the word that came next practically exploded from an enraged Buffy's mouth, "*Tiny*!" And with that, she launched into a determined series of combos.

She didn't let up on Faith even for an instant, who was momentarily caught off guard by the resolve of the attack, and was put more on the defensive than she normally liked. 'Oh fuck.' The younger slayer felt herself free falling before her back landed on the floor with a thud, and a warm body settled atop her.

"Told you I'd get you on your back." Buffy triumphantly declared, placing her hands on the shoulders of the loser to hold the aforementioned down--not that there was much struggling.

"Lucky." Faith muttered, turning her head away to look at the steel cage off to the side.

"What was that? Couldn't quite make it out." Buffy dug her knees into Faith's side just enough to command attention, but not to hurt.

"What're you, deaf? You got *lucky*." Faith uttered defiantly, matching the intense stare above her.

"Really? Because those of us that live in reality like to call it 'skill'...Sista." Mocking slang was fun.

"Yeah, well unless you wanna test your skill as a rodeo cowgirl, shake that ass offa me." The defeated slayer bucked her hips lightly at first, then with more force when she realized that Buffy was just riding out the waves.

She settled down as it became clear that there'd be no dislodging her this way, giving Buffy a mixed look of pride, astonishment, realization and excitement. Spike hadn't been lying about her getting 'down and dirty' since she saw her last, because you had to have some practice to able to ride out a storm like the blonde had just had.

The victor wasn't sure what to make of the look on the brunette's face, or the fact that she had ceased struggling as well as speaking, and was completely still. Buffy couldn't remember if she'd ever seen this before. Faith was usually like a giant ball of energy, always moving, always talking. Even in quiet moments, back in the beginning when they'd had a few, she was constantly rubbing her hands together, or cracking her knuckles, or making fists--like she couldn't stand calmness. Yet, she was lying there, relaxed and quiet.

The pair riveted Kennedy even during the silent staring contest, not sure what to make of the display she'd just been privy to, let alone the climax of it all. Having felt Willow lift her head from her shoulder some moments before, she looked at her, curious. "Are they..?" She trailed off, unable to explain the way Buffy and Faith interacted with each other as anything other than sexual tension.

Willow's slow, sly smile said so much more than words ever could have, which made Kennedy smirk as her eyes returned to the unmoving forms of Buffy and Faith, one final time. Then she stood up and offered her hand to the witch, whose smile, coupled with the 'rock 'em, sock 'em' festivities, made her want to get the magick-maker on her back in a way that had nothing to do with sparring.

"Stop that." Buffy protested, oblivious to the exit of the redhead and her now, '100% Superhero-ed' lust bunny. Willow wondered if she would feel different after this time.

And up at the top of the stairs, Dawn quickly vanished, so they wouldn't see that she had been watching them, though it wasn't at all with envy. Nope.

"Stop what?" Faith was genuinely puzzled, although she tried to make it sound as if it was all part of her master plan...whatever that may have been.

"Looking at me." Buffy complained, rising to a standing position, thus freeing Faith. Instead of getting up, however, the brunette merely rolled onto her side and propped her head up with her hand, finding the blonde again and wearing a small, pleased smile. "I can't believe I was thinking about helping you up." She spoke exasperatedly, catching Vi retreating out of the corner of her eye.

"How, 'Friendly, Neighborhood...*former* one-girl-in-all-the-world,' of you." Faith smirked, sitting up. "I accept." She held out her hand to her partner, who merely stared at it.

"I said I was *thinking* about it." Buffy emphasized, viewing the appendage thoughtfully.

"You can't just leave me hangin', yo." Faith stared up at what she hoped would be her savior, her eyes practically whining, 'After all we've been through together?' all shimmering and wide.

'That's just not right.' Buffy told her brain silently, and then reached out to grasp the hand and tug her up. The 'Urban Girl to the Core' and the 'Puppy-Dog' expression were two things she never expected to ever use in conjunction.

"Much obliged, B." Faith said softly, once on her feet, her face mere inches away from Buffy's own, thanks to the momentum of the blonde's pull.

"My pleasure." Buffy responded, her voice equally soft before she took a step back, putting some space between them.

"That's true." The brunette nodded in total agreement. "Most people would hafta at least offer to feed me before getting the kind of free action you just got." She grinned over at the blonde.

"In that case, I feel..." Buffy trekked towards their exit, craning her neck to keep sight of a following Faith.

"Pretty damn special?" Faith supplied as she grabbed the railing and hopped onto the first step. "You wanna know--?"

"No."

"You don't even know what I was gonna--"

"No."

"Not even if it's--?"

"Nope."

"It could be--"

"Don't think so."

"That's narrow--"

"I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it."

"Your loss..." Faith shrugged.

"...Is your gain." Her elder finally turned around to face the woman trailing behind her as they entered the Hyperion's lobby.

"How's it my gain if I already knew what I was gonna say?" Faith asked in a 'Got ya!' tone.

"That's not the point." Buffy smugly revealed as they crossed the tile floor to the stairway on the left.

"Then what *is* the point?"

"You forgot what you were going to say." Stopping in the middle of the staircase, Buffy spun around so that she was looking down at the person a few stairs below her.

Faith snorted as if she had never heard anything so ridiculous in her life. "No, I..crap." She sighed, when upon reflection, she realized she had indeed forgotten.

Buffy smiled and turned back around to head up, wistful. "It's good to be me." She continued scaling the steps, smiling to herself as she heard the playfully muttering, 'devil woman.' "Would a 'devil woman' buy you ribs, her treat?"

Not missing a beat, "Yes."

"Seriously?" The blonde inquired, glancing behind her.

Faith smirked. "There was the one time."

"I don't wanna know." Buffy said, hurrying up her ascent. Showers were in order before their barbeque needs could be met.

"I think you do." Faith sing-songed. "You wanna hear all about how--"

Hands were clamped over ears. "I can't hear you, I can't hear you, I can't *hear* you..." She repeated the phrase again and again as she marched down the hall, refusing to look back.

Faith smiled--she was back on top.

*****

It was early in the evening when the slayers entered their room at the hotel, after a day-long hunt--for an 8-Bit Nintendo System and a basket full of cartridges, which Buffy was lugging. She dropped it on the bed as Faith just stood there, leisurely eating reheated ribs that she'd paid for. "You hafta at least taste 'em; they're even better nuked. No joke." Her audience of one wasn't swayed, and just smirked. "Buffy, these ribs are the *bomb*...shouldn't deny yourself."

"This is driving me nuts--there, I said it." The blonde rubbed her temples. Had Faith already moved that far down the list? Because she was now using slang so overused, all races cringed upon hearing it. "You're getting close to bordering on 'Urkel' territory; the worrying has begun."

"That's low." Faith responded after a long moment of silent disbelief. "When I start strappin' on suspenders, then--"

Buffy's eyes grew large. "You're gonna start wearing suspenders?" She relented slightly when the scowl made an appearance. "Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a little, but the second it becomes a huge issue and I say, 'I told you so,' remember that I both broached and warned."

This gave the Bostionian pause, but she continued with the denial. "C'mon, it's still--"

"--outdated? Yep, extremely."

"It's hung in for a few rounds; nothing wrong with that." The younger slayer shrugged, her statement defensive. "Just means it's hard to knock out, so put down the shovel. Isn't time."

"Faith, I'm your friend, and honestly? You should listen to yourself. It's almost one step away from, 'My bad.'" Her petite roommate said, somberly.

"Shit." Faith breathed out, slowly realizing. Because of the horrification, it was several seconds before she was able to ask, "How about 'Dy-No-Mite'?"

"Long as I don't get blown up..." They grinned at each other. "Now drop the beef and help me plug this in." She picked up the Nintendo.

"That was such a porn line, B." The brunette's eyes twinkled, as she set the plate of ribs by the door.

"You would know." Buffy joked with a similar, accompanying twinkle.

"This was made like, two decades ago; back then, people were retarded, ya know?" Faith had to clarify, if the raised brow was any indication. "With technology and stuff. But they got it hooked up, so I'm betting it ain't rocket science." She brushed it off, turning the TV they borrowed from Lorne's room around so they could reach the back. "I mean, hell, they had Beta." She snorted.

"Like you have any idea what that is."

"Yeah, it's the dude with the contacts on Star Trek."

Buffy stared blankly at the smug expression. "I'm not even..nope. Not gonna bother."

"No, please, pass on your retro knowledge--only way I'll learn." Faith crossed her arms over her chest, and eyed her friend expectantly. "Don't keep me in suspense. Never was good with the whole, 'patience' thing."

The blonde was at a loss, and there was no way to salvage this pitfall. "It was, um...that toy. It was like a glow-in-the-dark puzzle, so they gave you these little lights in the box, but some were always missing."

"Oh, you're a friggin' *genius*. That was a Lite-Brite!" Faith shook her head disappointedly, holding in a snicker. "Sure talk big for a," coughing into her hand, "college dropout."

Carefully placing the older console on top of the TV for a moment, Buffy lunged at her fellow slayer, sending them both hard onto the bed and knocking the basket full of games/accessories to the floor, causing its contents to spill out. She looked down at her bold, smart-ass of a friend and said, "Oh, and that *wasn't* low? Hafta say, I'm kind of leaning towards disliking you. Temporarily. For a week."

"Wouldn't last that long."

"Me?" She was ready to argue the point, more for argument's sake than anything else, but then she paid attention to the eyes that gave her a brutally honest answer. With a barely noticeable smile, she rolled off the brunette then, so they lay side-by-side on their backs. Their thoughts had been heading in a certain direction lately, and it felt like forever until she spoke again, choosing to sidestep. "Why'd we get all this stuff?"

"I had to see if I could pull off the granddaddy of all codes," Faith reminded her, speaking of the famous Contra cheat, "and you said you could snag the second whistle in Mario 3."

"I can." Buffy repeated in her defense. "But...why'd we get *all* this stuff?"

"Cause we like to go full-tilt?"

The blonde mused on this. "Wonder if that's a good thing. I...it'd be easy to fall back into the slaying, but going full-tilt again? Isn't high up there."

"Girls are willin' to pick up the slack; it's okay to relax the hours. You earned a choice, B, stupid to waste it." The younger slayer wasn't shy about making her opinion available. "Putting in the time gave you options, so use 'em."

The elder sighed. "I've just been thinking about how everybody else has their own thing, and I'm still lagging. Bugs me that I dunno what I wanna do with my life."

"Hey, I lag, you plan...there's a difference. I mean, this took me a while to get, but rushing...life ain't a race. Find something you wanna do, then run with it till you're bored. Don't hafta lock yourself into anything." The brunette had to stop herself before she got too philosophical and made herself sick. Ex-cons shouldn't offer sage advice. "Whatever--I'm bullshitting."

Buffy turned her head to look at the embarrassed Bostonian. "Doesn't sound like it."

When Faith didn't get the jibe she was expecting, she wandered into territory that hadn't been tread for quite a while, not knowing what the hell she was doing. "Sometimes tiltin', uh, has an upside, though. Actually did for me once, then I--"

"Faith, we weren't ready." Thankfully one of them had the guts to start this. "But I didn't ever..." She had to get it out. "I'm glad it happened." Slight blush. "Everything after? That's the stuff I wanna forget."

But that morning had been equally her fault. In her senior year, the two chosen ones had trailed these vampire lackeys of an obese demon named Balthazar into Sunnydale's sewers. After a rather intense battle, retrieving an amulet they'd come for, the victors wound up at Faith's apartment. Slayers tend to feel an overwhelming high from their work, a buzzing, all-too-palpable surge of energy that needs to find release. Buffy usually denied herself, but then, she forgot why the rules mattered. Let the tide pull her in. There'd only been that moment, and that moment had consisted solely of Faith.

'Hesitant' and 'shy' were words that lost meaning, as they seemed to know instinctively how to drive the other to the brink and back again. Fast, heated and crazy--exactly the way it started, with the simple goal of helping a friend to unwind. However, and they weren't sure what changed, the intense, casually-motivated 'one-off' turned slow, sensual and passionate on them. A pleasurable competition became something that carried a hell of a lot more emotional weight behind it; baggage was the last thing they'd wanted at the time, which probably explained the 'Why' of it very nicely.

In the morning, wrapped in a tangle of warm, protective limbs, they awoke to Reality, who was in the mood to be a bitch that day. And that awkwardness set up the ugly few months to come, that escalated until nothing but what happened in that loft, could be done.

"Only time I wasn't itchin' to move. And when I didn't want you gone? Damn, that weirded me out." Faith admitted, still processing the fact that Buffy didn't see their one night as a shameful, low point.

"I could tell." The blonde said, and then sighed. "Wasn't like I was any better at handling it, either. The 'girl' thing was new, and I'd technically just cheated on my boyfriend who I was in serious denial over, and what we did was..." She blushed yet again. "Being the b