One More Time: Your Cavalier Attitude
by Sulks
Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes: Follows "Once More Around the Block," "Truth or Dare," "Morning After" and "Tis the Season."

"Thanks for keeping me company," Cordelia said, hugging Faith goodbye.

"It was fun, I wish we could do this more often."

"Me too."

Faith got on the train, ready to head back to Sunnydale. She needed the time away from the small town, and she really appreciated the time she spent in Los Angeles. She thought that maybe if she saved up some money she just might move to L.A. Or maybe some other major metropolitan city. She just knew that she didn't particularly want to live out the rest of her inevitably short life in Sunnyhell, and strangely, Sunnydale being the Hellmouth had nothing to do with it. It was just too Mayberry for her. That is, you know, if Mayberry had an unusually high death rate along with demons and vampires and two Slayers and teenage girls obsessed with pop music who had once been mystical energy.

She fell asleep on the train and only woke up because both Dawn and Buffy were banging on her window, shouting her name. She jolted awake and hopped off the platform, just in time.

Dawn smirked at her, "if you'd kept sleeping, maybe you would have ended up in Canada like Ross on that episode of Friends."

"Oh, like they'd give me a passport," Faith said, in perfect imitation of Phoebe on the last episode of Friends she and Dawn had watched together. It'd become a sort of ritual for the two of them, and kept them connected to one another, no matter how busy either of them got. Faith wrapped her arm around Dawn's shoulder, noting that in another year or so the girl would be taller than she was.

"Hey B," Faith greeted warmly. "How was Christmas?"

"It was good, but it would have been nicer if you were there."

"And more fun," Dawn muttered under her breath.

"Hey!" Buffy exclaimed indignantly, as Faith laughed.

"Well, it's true," Dawn said, "Faith's so cool."

"That I am," Faith agreed amiably.

"Oh, shut up, Peek-a-Boo girl."

Faith reddened.

"Huh?" Dawn asked.

"Nothing." Faith said quickly, "your sister's just being a dork."

Dawn glanced at her sister. "Spill!"

Buffy opened her mouth to speak, but then Faith grabbed Buffy's keys out of her hand and threw them to Dawn. "Dawnie, why don't you go warm up the car?" Buffy's eyes widened in outrage but Dawn was already running towards the car. Buffy sprinted after Dawn, but eventually just gave up and started to walk back.

"Ha!" Faith said.

"Hey there, babe," a voice behind Faith said. Faith turned around and saw Davis there flashing her a smile. He was a good looking guy, and normally, Faith wouldn't have minded taking him for a quick ride, but since she got to know him a little bit, he didn't appeal to her sexually at all. She'd told him when she was coming back when he'd dropped her off, but had never intended for him to come pick her up. God, how irritating.

"Hi," she said, smiling back sweetly. She didn't want to tell him to fuck off yet, because one never knew when one might need him-- he was a doctor at Sunnydale General.

"I came to pick you up, I thought we could go do something since tomorrow's New Years Eve and all."

Faith hid a smirk, she knew exactly what he had in mind.

"Well, I would but..."

"She's coming home with me." Buffy's voice. Buffy came up from behind Faith and wrapped an arm around Faith's waist. "Hey baby."

Faith wrapped an arm around Buffy's shoulders, realising what Buffy was doing and she was literally screaming thank-you on the inside. "Hey, sweet cheeks. I missed you heaps."

Davis' eyes nearly bugged out before a lecherous grin came across his features. "Okay, okay, I get it," he said, leering. "Call me if you guys want to hook up later, Jeffrey's with my Mother in San Diego for a few days."

"We'll give it some thought," Buffy said, "won't we, baby?" Buffy nuzzled Faith's neck.

'Holy fucking shit, she's carrying this far,' Faith thought, 'we want to just put him off a little, not give him an orgasm.' But she merely smiled and nodded. The two slayers watched as Davis walked away. Buffy made no motion to move away, but instead kept her arm around Faith's waist, and her head very close to Faith's neck. 'Fucking space cadet Buffy,' Faith thought, chuckling, 'doesn't even realise he's gone.' Faith moved away first. Buffy blinked. Faith laughed at her, uttering thanks for helping to make Davis go away, at least for one night.

"Come on, Space Case," Faith said, "let's go." Faith hefted her bag.

Buffy reached out for it, "I'll carry it."

Faith gave her an odd look, "why, because I'm some sort of damsel in distress?" Faith asked with a wry grin. She flexed her arm and made a bicep. "Yeah, look at that, woo!"

Buffy snorted, rolled her eyes and swatted at Faith's bicep. "No, dumb ass, because I thought you might be tired from your trip. I was trying to be Nice Buffy, but since you're being Mean Faith, you can carry your own damn bag."

Faith blinked in consternation. "Oh," was all she could say.

"What, no one ever tried to do anything nice for you for no reason?" Buffy teased, watching Faith's face carefully.

'Not really,' Faith thought. Instead she held out the bag. "You gonna carry it or what? I'm wicked tired." She made her pouty pleading face.

Buffy rolled her eyes and grabbed the bag. "Let's go home. Have you eaten yet?"

"Yeah, but I'm wicked hungry."

"You wanna get a burger?"

"Yeah, that'd be great."

Dawn and Buffy playfully fought for a moment on who would get to drive, but they turned on Faith when she remarked that it really wouldn't matter who drove, since either way, the driver was pretty crappy.

They sat in a diner, munching on burgers and fries.

"So how was LA?" Dawn asked.

Faith grinned hugely, "it was wicked great. C and I had so much fun."

"What'd you guys do?" Dawn asked, clearly enthralled. She thought her sister and the rest of the Scoobies were so boring, and things sucked even more after Tara died and Willow went to England to work her head out.

"Oh, you know, girly stuff and then we'd go shopping and clubbing. It was fun."

"How was Angel? Was he okay?" Buffy asked softly, knowing what recent traumas he'd gone through. She may not be with him anymore, but a part of her would always love him and care about him.

"He looked good," Faith reassured. "He always looks a little sad, but C's taking good care of him, buys him paints and books and stuff like that."

"Really?" Buffy asked, suddenly thankful to Cordelia Chase.

"Yeah."

"Good." Buffy said, releasing an exaltation of breath in relief. "Are you glad to be back though?" Buffy asked. 'Say yes, say yes, say yes,' she thought.

Faith shrugged. "Not particularly," she said, taking a bite of her burger and missing how Buffy's expression darkened. "I was thinking of moving to LA once I had more money."

"For *her*?" Buffy spat out.

Faith and Dawn both glanced at her, taken aback by the sudden vitriol.

"For who?" Faith asked, confused.

"Cordelia."

"What?"

"Cordelia!"

"What *about* C?"

"You're moving to LA for Cordelia?"

"Why would I do that?" Faith said slowly, confusion clearly screaming from every pore in her body.

"What?" Buffy asked, suddenly confused herself.

Dawn snorted. "I guess being a Slayer also means you're brain dead," the teenager snarked.

"Hey!" Simultaneous expression of indignation from the slayers.

"Are you really moving to LA?" Buffy asked.

"LA, San Francisco, Seattle, wherever, just some place bigger than Sunnyhell."

"Aw, man, you can't move," Dawn said, "you'll take all the fun with you."

Faith laughed, and affectionately chucked Dawn under the chin.

Buffy looked worried. "You aren't happy here?" she asked, troubled by the thought that maybe Faith thought she was being forced to stay in Sunnydale.

"It's not like that, B," Faith refuted, "I am happy," she insisted. 'Or as happy as *I* can get,' she thought silently, "It's just that I'm not really much of a small town girl, ya know? And it's not like I have the money to do it soon anyway, and who knows, maybe I'd die before that chance ever arises."

"Don't say that!" Dawn and Buffy said sharply.

"Damn, synchronised Summers sisters."

When they were walking to the car, Dawn a few feet ahead of Buffy and Faith, Buffy tugged on Faith's hand. "Don't be so cavalier when you're talking about dying, okay?" she whispered. "It upsets Dawn when you do."

"I didn't know that," Faith said apologetically. "Sorry 'bout that, I'll try not to do it."

"Besides," Buffy said, "it's sort of like cursing yourself, when you say stuff like that." She was troubled by Faith's cavalier attitude about her own death.

"I *guess*," Faith said, rolling her eyes. She wasn't a superstitious type and she knew that she was going to die soon enough, so why not make a few jokes about it? The whole thing was a little absurd anyway. You had a girl, supposed to be the "Chosen" one, smack an expiration date of twenty-five years (maximum) on her and what did that mean? It meant thousands and thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of so-called "special" girls.

She was also fairly sure that the lineage of the Slayers ran through her now, since Buffy had died and no new Slayer had been called. That basically meant that while Buffy would probably just be allowed to live until a ripe old age, if the accident permits it, Faith would inevitably be killed off by the Council if she got too old to serve her duties. And it wasn't that she really thought she'd see her thirties or forties, although it'd be nice to, it was that she *knew* she wouldn't. If *she* lived too long, to the point when her body would naturally degenerate, that meant that no new Slayer could be called and the Council would surely kill her to prevent that from happening. But then again, she'd never really live that long, simply because at some point her body would fail her. She knew her fate, and what could she possibly be but cavalier about it? There was no point in being sad about it.

Once they got home, Buffy dropped off Faith's bag in her room and then left to give the dark-haired Slayer some privacy. Faith showered and then fell into an exhausted sleep.

...continued in Auld Lang Syne...