One More Time: Auld Lang Syne
by Sulks
Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes: Number six in the One More Time series, it follows "Once More Around the Block," "Truth or Dare," "Morning After" "Tis the Season" and "Your Cavalier Attitude." Many apologies to Robert Burns, all of Scotland and the entire Auld Lang Syne singing world for fucking with a New Years tradition just to put this out.
P.S. I put the year as being 2004 here, this is because this series takes place AFTER season 7.

It was a fairly intimate gathering at the Summers home. Buffy, Faith, Xander, Anya, Dawn and Dawn's friend, Janice were all there, along with two boys that Dawn and Janice had invited presumably as dates. Dawn had tried to sneak a few glasses of wine away from the table, but Faith shook her head at her and Dawn scampered away, pouting and mumbling about how Faith was spending too much time with Buffy.

The evening itself had been a little bit somber, with reminders of people who should have been there, but weren't, but everyone was determined to ring in the New Year with joy.

At 11:58, Buffy switched on the television and the room watched as the Times Square Ball was dropped. At midnight, everyone cheered and hugged. "Happy New Year!" and "Holy shit, it's 2004" were the things most often heard.

Dawn and Janice both impulsively kissed their dates. Anya gently grabbed Xander's face and kissed him on the mouth, he responded eagerly, hoping that this was a new beginning for them.

Faith and Buffy were left facing each other, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Look at the lust bunnies go," Faith commented.

Buffy glanced over at her sister who was still kissing her date. "Hey, buddy you better be prepared to marry her at that rate!"

Faith laughed, looking carefree and happy. Buffy could remember the last time she had seen Faith look that carefree and happy-- it had been at the Bronze, when the two had danced and then Buffy had pulled Faith away from her dancing partners to go check on a fat demon. That had been the night before Allan Finch died.

Buffy grabbed one of Faith's hands, "shall we?" she asked, looking around at the kissing couples.

"Why not?" Faith said with an easy grin.

Buffy reached up and kissed Faith on the cheek. She fully intended on leaving it at that, but then her lips traveled westward, and suddenly Faith's lips were meeting her own, and then they were kissing, full contact. For her part, Faith didn't think the kiss would be like this, she too had thought it would just be a kiss on the cheek...

"Holy shit! My sister's kissing a girl!" Dawn whooped.

They pulled away quickly and looked around and saw that everyone was staring at them. Buffy blushed, but she turned back to Faith, "wow," she said, "that was...that...was...amazing."

"Whoa," Faith echoed softly.

The kiss was different from the ones that they'd exchanged when they were younger. While those had been good mostly because both Slayers had honed their kissing techniques, this kiss was good for reasons that went beyond the purely technical. Faith looked around the room and saw that people had already lost interest in the two of them. "Wanna do it again?" Faith asked, half joking (believing that Buffy would say no) and half serious, wishing Buffy would say yes.

"Yes," Buffy said urgently. She grabbed one of Faith's hands and pulled her towards the stairs. The Slayers sprinted up the stairs, and everyone could hear the loud slam of Buffy's bedroom door.

"Ooh! They're orgasm partners now!" Anya exclaimed.

Once in Buffy's room, the Slayers resumed their kissing. Buffy reached up and pulled down the straps to Faith's tank top, her hands began roving over the younger woman's upper body. Faith stopped Buffy's hands and held them gently. "You sure you really want to do this again?" Faith asked softly, "I mean, look at what happened last time..."

Buffy cocked her head to the side. "It depends on you," she said cautiously. "I want...I want us to be together," she admitted. "I guess I just assumed...because that kiss downstairs...it..."

"It wasn't like it was before," Faith finished.

"Yeah. So I guess I just thought we would...do you not want to be with me?"

"That's not it at all," Faith insisted, hating the look of insecurity that had appeared on Buffy's face. "It's just...B, I'm not really the long-term kind of girl, ya know? I mean, shit look at the way I've treated you the last few times..."

"That's in the past now," Buffy said, "and I wasn't so great to you either when we were...you know...a few years ago."

Faith shrugged dismissively. "I suck at the relationship thing, B."

"So? So do I," Buffy said. "We can improve together."

"But--"

Buffy silenced Faith with a finger to her lips. "That night when we got drunk and had sex...I remembered it. You were so *gone* but I was still...I wasn't as drunk as you. We had sex and I told you that I loved you, and you told me that you loved me too...I remembered that. I lied because...when you woke up, it was like you were disgusted by the thought of sleeping with me..."

"Oh, shit, B, that's not true. I just...I was surprised, you know?"

"Did you mean it when you said you loved me too?"

"B, I...I don't even know if I'm *capable* of that..."

"Oh," Buffy said softly, her face crestfallen.

"It's not *you*, it's *me*."

"Yeah, right," Buffy said, laughing self-deprecatingly. "I've heard that one before."

"Aw, B," Faith said, "look, you don't even know me to...you don't know what you'd be getting into with me. You think a few years in prison changed me from a total fuckup into an upstanding well-adjusted citizen?"

"I don't think you're--"

"It doesn't matter what you *think* I am, B, it just matters what I actually *am* and what I am is not good enough for you."

"Let's just try though," Buffy insisted. "I don't think of you're not good enough for me--"

"You thought I was a loser," Faith pointed out.

"That was *years* ago," Buffy said, "and I never meant it. Not really anyway," Buffy insisted.

"You really want to give us a go? Even though it probably won't end at all well?"

"How would you possibly know that," Buffy persisted. "Don't think of it like that, it's like cursing--"

"Not that again." Faith said with a laugh. She poked Buffy in the ribs.

Buffy smiled and wrapped her arms around Faith's waist. "I don't think anyone could be better for us than each other. We're Slayers, girlfriend. The Chosen Two," Buffy said in imitation of Faith's Boston accent. "There'll probably never be two Slayers again after us... we're *special*, Faith. Something *did* make us different," she continued, in affirmation of Faith's side in that long-ago argument on Main Street. "Just the two of us against the world."

"I really missed you, B," Faith said, her voice cracking slightly. She brought her lips over Buffy's. Buffy lifted Faith up, still maintaining contact between their lips and walked to her bed. Downstairs, Buffy could hear music and laughter.

It was such a perfect way to ring in a new year. Maybe they'd never get their happy ending, but it was enough for now.

...continued in My Pretty Valentine...