Faith followed the blonde girl up the three flights of stairs to her two-bedroom apartment. The brunette didn't say a word and the silence started to rattle the other slayer. The Bostonian had been chatty from the beginning of the night, and now that Buffy felt wildly uncomfortable, Faith's silence wasn't helping.

Buffy pulled her keys out of her small clutch purse and fumbled to find the right one. "Dawn's probably still out," she absentmindedly chattered. "She said she was going to Midnight mass with her boyfriend and his family. I don't know if that means church is actually at midnight or not though."

Finally finding the right key, Buffy unlocked the door. "Home, sweet home," she mumbled.

The golden-haired slayer strode into her apartment, Faith following behind. Since she was so familiar with the layout of her home, Buffy didn't bother to turn on the front foyer light while she took off her ballet flats. It took her a moment to realize that Faith hadn't moved since they'd entered the apartment, however, no doubt waiting for the blonde to turn on a light so she could see.

"I suppose I should turn on a light," Buffy laughed at herself. It dawned on her how often she came home by herself and never had need of the foyer lights.

"We don't really need it," the brunette breathed.

Buffy was suddenly aware of how close the other girl stood.

"At this point," Faith stepped disconcertingly near and placed two fingers gently on the blonde's temple, "I could draw your face in my sleep."

Buffy closed her eyes as if caught up in a spell cast by the rasp of Faith's voice and her velvet touch. She felt Faith's fingertips slowly move down the side of her face, over her cheek, and along the sweep of her jaw.

Buffy caught her breath with a faint hiss. The exquisite strokes descended the slope of her throat until Faith's fingers came to rest in the hollow at the base. They lingered there, as if considering going lower.

Buffy opened one eye to see Faith studying her, gauging her reaction even in the dark. "What's…what's happening?" the blonde slayer asked.

A small, coy smile played at the corners of the brunette's generous mouth. "Isn't this how all dates end?"

Buffy released a deep shuddering breath she didn't realize she had been holding in. "Truthfully, most of my dates end with me running off because I have to go kill something."

Faith carefully licked her lower lip. Buffy watched the tip of the brunette's tongue swab across its length, and she couldn't help but imagine what else the Bostonian could be licking in moments if she ignored the flashing 'Danger' signs in her head and obeyed her aching body instead.

"Do you feel like running off right now?" the brunette asked simply.

Acting before her brain could tell her to stop, Buffy slipped her hands into Faith's open shirt. She placed her hands on the taller woman's hips and pulled her close. She felt momentarily smug, enjoying the fleeting surprise in Faith's eyes before she pressed her lips against the brunette's red mouth.

At first, the kiss was slow and hesitant, just Faith's pliant lips molding to the blonde's, feeling warm and tender. The Boston woman's tongue brushed against Buffy's lips, not demanding entry, but testing. Buffy's lips parted and the brunette's tongue slipped between them. There was a sense of exploratory wonder that ripened into something hungry. It became more than a kiss that said 'I want you'. Instead, it was a kiss that said 'I need you.'

After a few moments, Faith pulled away, breathless from the kiss. "I…You surprised me."

Buffy audibly swallowed. She could feel her heart working hard, pumping hot blood throughout her body. She reached out blindly and finally found a light switch. When she turned on the overhead light, the spell she'd been temporarily under seemed to dissipate.

"I-I promised you a drink," Buffy responded shakily.

Faith nodded, looking relieved that Buffy hadn't slapped her, run away, or forced her to leave.

As she watched the blonde retreat into the back kitchen, Faith wiped her unsteady hands on the back of her jeans. Normally she was comfortable in these situations, being alone with someone at the end of a long night. She always had the right words to say, the right gestures and moves to get what she wanted. However, she rarely went on dates, and her date had never been Buffy Summers.

Buffy cringed when she slammed the doors to the cabinet near the sink with too much enthusiasm. In the short distance between her living room and kitchen, she'd somehow forgotten where she kept her coffeemaker.

The blonde opened another set of cabinets and scowled when she came up empty again. Did she even own a coffeemaker? she silently wondered.

Buffy abandoned the hot beverage idea and opened the refrigerator instead. Milk, pulp-less orange juice, and V8 – not exactly drinks to offer someone late at night. "You could always just offer yourself," Buffy mused, but instantly discarded the idea out of embarrassment.

What was she even doing inviting Faith in at this hour? She should have just said her goodbyes at the front door and retreated to her apartment alone so she could over-analyze what had happened at the ice rink.

Buffy opened another cabinet and grimaced at its barren contents. She took out a long, slender bottle and prayed she was doing the right thing.

A small buzzing woke Buffy up. The room was blanketed in complete darkness thanks to her blackout blinds. Bleary-eyed and drowsy, the blonde grabbed her digital alarm clock and looked at the time. 10 am? Why would she have set her alarm for such a late hour?

Buffy sat up in bed and rubbed at her tired eyes. The buzzing continued and it took the slayer a moment to realize the noise was her front door and not an alarm clock.

Pulling on a pair of boots she remembered being under her bed, Buffy stumbled and tripped out of the bedroom and into the main hallway. Another buzz sounded and Buffy winched at the annoying noise. She pressed her intercom button. "Hello?" she croaked out in a voice still thick with sleep.

"Hey, Buff. It's me," called a cheerful, masculine voice.

"Xander?" Buffy blinked a few times. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, Christmas morning brunch?" the man's voice responded. "I've got presents and scrambled eggs."

Buffy pressed the palm of her hand into her forehead. With all the excitement from the previous night, she'd completely forgotten all her friends were coming over to eat and exchange gifts.

"Sorry, Xand. It slipped my mind," the blonde apologized. "I'm buzzing you up right now. Let yourself in. I gotta put on pants and brush my teeth." The Californian pressed another button to unlock the apartment's front entrance and turned to walk back down the hallway.

Buffy stopped outside the closed door of her sister's bedroom. She didn't remember hearing the younger girl come home the previous night. "Dawn," she called, rapping soundly on the wooden door. "Get out of bed – people are coming over."

The slayer heard some rustling and her sister groaned from the inside of the room. "I'm up," came Dawn's muffled voice. Satisfied, Buffy headed for the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Buffy spit into the sink and didn't look up when the bathroom door opened. "Dawn," she complained. "Wait your turn."

The slayer's hazel-green eyes went wide, however, when she realized it wasn't her sister entering the small room.

"I gotta pee," Faith grunted as she shuffled into the confined space. Buffy couldn't help but notice that the brunette's wavy locks were more unruly than usual and she wore only a long t-shirt that barely covered her backside. She had spent the night.

Buffy froze, like a deer in headlights. She realized that Faith could have been in bed with her the entire time, and she wouldn't have noticed because of the blackout curtains. Faith took no notice of the blonde and sat down on the toilet.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked when she finally found her voice.

Faith's eyebrows rose comically. "Do I have to draw you a diagram?"

Buffy closed her eyes and shook her head to the sound of the toilet flushing. "No – I mean what are you doing here?" she clarified.

The Boston slayer nudged Buffy out of the way with her hip so she could wash her hands. She looked into the vanity mirror, and her dark eyes smoldered. "Besides rockin' your world?" she smiled.

Her voice was enough to melt the hardest solid to liquid. Buffy's knees buckled. "Oh my God," she gasped. "What did we do last night?"

Faith chuckled lowly and dried her hands. "You want another diagram?"

Buffy's stomach dropped. "Oh God," she repeated, closing her eyes again.

The blonde tried to remember the details from the late night. After not being able to find anything appropriate to offer Faith to drink, Buffy had resorted to the bottle of tequila Willow had brought her from a vacation to Mexico.

She had originally intended to only have a few shots and then go to sleep, but she'd found herself enjoying the company of the other slayer. They hadn't discussed anything of importance, but that had been part of the fun.

Buffy pressed her palm soundly against her forehead, she eyelids still shut as she continued to piece together chunks of her foggy memory. They'd sat next to each other on her couch in the living room. The evening had begun with individual shot glasses, but after a while, the two had abandoned the miniature glasses in favor of simply passing the bottle back and forth.

The blonde opened one eye. "We kissed."

It wasn't a question – she could remember making out with the Boston girl with a teenager's gusto.

A small smile fluttered on the brunette's mouth, and she placed one hand on Buffy's hip. "You don't have to remind me," she practically purred.

The room began to spin, but Buffy didn't know if it was from Faith's proximity or the aftermath of an alcohol-filled night. She felt her heart race with the simple touch. She was all too aware just how half-dressed both she and the other girl currently were.

"Did we – did we sleep together?" she whispered, feeling lost under Faith's intense gaze.

The Boston girl touched the fingers of her free hand on Buffy's other hip. A small sigh escaped Buffy's slightly parted mouth. She felt as though she was under a trance. Faith slowly wet her lips and subtly leaned in.

"I slept on the couch," the dangerous brunette whispered.

Buffy pulled back abruptly. "What?"

"All that making out and groping was pretty awesome," Faith approved, "but when you started honkin' my tits like a bike horn, I figured you weren't in control anymore."

Buffy used the sink pedestal to steady herself. "I did what?" she rasped.

Faith shrugged. "Not that the girls don't enjoy it a little rough," she noted, fondling her braless breasts, "but the sound effects were a little much."

Buffy dropped her head. "This is the worst morning ever."

Faith leaned her head to one side and cracked her neck. "Stop your bitchin'. You're not the one who slept on a lumpy couch. If I'd known your couch was so uncomfortable, I woulda taken you up on that sex invite."

"I asked you to sleep with me?" the blonde squeaked in disbelief. It was official. She was a social pariah and could no longer spend time alone with anyone.

The brunette slayer nodded. "Yeah, but I turned you down. Figured you'd punch me in the ovaries this morning if you woke up next to me."

"Well, uh, thanks for being such a gentle, uh, gentlewoman, about all this," Buffy sheepishly thanked.

Faith grinned. "No problem, B. But don't think that I won't take you up on that offer next time."

"Next time?" Buffy sputtered. "You think there's going to be a next time?"

"You can bet your sweet ass there will be." The Boston girl winked. "But not before I can take you out on a proper date."

"What was last night if not a date?" Buffy pointed out.

"I was the consolation prize last night," the brunette noted. "So next time, I'm gonna be the only one you'll want takin' you out."

Buffy's eyes narrowed slightly. "You sound very sure of yourself."

"If you looked this good half-naked, you'd be cocky too," Faith smirked. "Although you do come in a close second," she remarked, raking her eyes over the smaller slayer's lithe figure. "But before I take you out, I've got one condition."

"What?" Buffy asked warily. She knew she should just flat-out refuse the other slayer instead of encouraging her, but Faith's confidence was unarming, and Buffy forgot herself.

"Let me surprise you."

Buffy stared up into Faith's dark chocolate eyes. It could be so easy to give in to her. "We'll see," she replied in a quiet voice.

"Buffy! I'm here!" came Xander's voice from inside the apartment. "You should really find an apartment with an elevator. It wasn't fun hoofing up three-flights of stairs with all this stuff."

"Shit," the blonde cursed under her breath.

Faith nodded towards the door. "Go on," she urged. "I'll be fine."

Buffy hesitated, but finally left the bathroom without another word to the Boston slayer. "I'll be right there, Xand," she called down the hallway.

The blonde slayer hastily grabbed a pair of jeans from her bedroom floor and hazarded a glance in her vanity mirror. She didn't look too bad, all things considered – besides, it was just a morning with her friends. She didn't have to impress them.

Satisfied with her appearance, Buffy padded down the hallway. She hesitated outside the bathroom door. She'd left it open in her hurry to put on pants, but now the door was closed. Before she could knock on the door to see if Faith was still in the bathroom, however, the apartment buzzer rang again.

Buffy sighed. There was too much going on this morning.

"Hello?" she called, pressing the intercom button for the second time that morning.

"Morning, Buff! It's Kennedy and me," came her best friend's voice.

"Hey Willow," Buffy greeted. "C'mon up. Xander just got here."

Just as she pressed the button to let her best friend and her girlfriend come upstairs, she heard Xander's laughter floating down the hallway. Buffy momentarily panicked, expecting to find Xander and a half-dressed Faith in the living room. As she traveled down the hallway towards the front of the apartment, Buffy racked her brain to create some excuse as to why Faith would have spent the night.

Buffy felt the tension in her body leave when she saw Xander talking to her sister, not Faith. She quickly scanned the living room. There wasn't any visible evidence that Faith had even been there the previous night. The bottle of tequila was gone, along with their abandoned shot glasses.

The front door opened and Willow and Kennedy entered the apartment.

"Merry Christmas, everybody!" the redheaded Wicca greeted.

"Happy belated Hanukkah," her girlfriend chimed in. Willow smiled at Kennedy and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Can we open up presents now?" Dawn asked with the impatience of a teenager.

"Not yet," Willow laughed as she took off her jacket and hung it up in the front foyer. "We're still waiting on Faith, right?"

A wash of panic flooded over Buffy's body. Faith was trapped in the bathroom. She couldn't come out or everyone would know what had happened last night. Her apartment seemed suddenly too warm, so she sat down on the couch.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Willow chirped as she walked into the living room. "How was your date last night?"

"Wait," Kennedy interrupted, coming in behind her girlfriend with a stack of presents. "Buffy had a date?"

"Not a real one," Dawn noted. "Just one with Faith."

"You went on a date with Faith?" Kennedy pressed. She fanned her face and grinned. "This is getting hot."

"No, they just went out as friends," Willow noted before Buffy even had a chance to open her mouth.

"So how was it?" Dawn asked. "Did you have a good time?"

Buffy could feel all of her friends eyes on her, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"Uh."

For the third time that morning, the apartment door buzzed. Buffy jumped to her feet. She had no idea who it was, but she could kiss them for the timely interruption.

"Hello?"

"You gonna let me in or what?" came Faith's voice. "It's freezing out here."

So much for the kissing. She's already done that.

Buffy stood dumbfounded, but she managed to press the button that unlocked the front entrance. How and when had Faith slipped out amongst the morning scramble and chaos of her friends showing up?

Instead of joining her friends in the living room, Buffy waited by the front door. She heard Faith's heavy boots clomp up the wooden staircase, and the blonde threw open the door before Faith had the opportunity to knock. The Boston slayer stood in the doorway, her hair slightly tamed, wearing the same clothes she'd worn the previous night.

"Where did you go?" Buffy whispered in a tone low enough that only her sister-Slayer could catch the words.

"Outside," Faith stated obviously. "I didn't want your friends thinking anything happened last night since you seemed so horrified," she revealed. "I wanna start off on the right foot." The corners of her mouth curled up. "Surprised?"

Buffy nodded. "Very."

Faith leaned her face close to Buffy's ear. "See?" she breathed. "Surprises aren't all bad." The blonde's legs wobbled when Faith's lips brushed against her ear.

Buffy expected the taller girl to take advantage of their closeness, but the taller slayer pulled her face away and simply smiled. The blonde was surprised again at the realization that she wanted Faith to take advantage of their proximity, but once again the Boston girl had shown her self-restraint.

The elder slayer threw her arms around Faith's neck and eagerly pressed her lips against the raven-haired beauty's slightly parted mouth. The Boston girl made a noise of surprise, but quickly regained her composure and kissed the smaller slayer back with equal enthusiasm. Her hands went to Buffy's backside and she squeezed. Buffy groaned into Faith's mouth and pressed her front more fully against the taller woman. She slipped her tongue between the Bostonian's lips and ran the tip along the front of the brunette's even, front teeth. Faith moaned her approval and deepened the kiss as well.

Over the pounding of her rapidly beating heart, Buffy could just make out the sound of Willow's voice: "I think it went well last night."

The Chosen One couldn't help but smile.

FIN